Residents are starting to feel the effects of the rising tensions in the Middle East with prices going up at local gas stations.
The latest Maximum Allowable Price for fuel released Monday by the Office of Disaster Assistance and Petroleum Management, (ODAPM) sees the price of all fuel products increasing.
The MAP sets the wholesale price that local fuel suppliers sell their products.
The price of unleaded gas went up by 41 cents a gallon from $3.16 to $3.58 cents a gallon. Gas stations add their own overhead costs to that price. A survey of local gas stations by ODAPM conducted March 17 showed that unleaded gasoline which was selling for just over $4.00 a gallon two weeks ago is now retailing at between $4.35 to $4.53 cents a gallon.
The MAP for Ultra Low Sulfur Road Diesel went up by .75 cents a gallon from $3.49 to $4.25, the biggest increase in the new MAP.
Two weeks ago, the price range for Ultra Low Sulfur diesel was $4.15 to $4.40 a gallon. But the current price now ranges from $4.90 to $5.11 a gallon at the pump.
ODAPM said the increases are due to a sharp rise in global fuel benchmarks that began at the start of March. To reduce the immediate impact on consumers, the Office of Petroleum Management is implementing a smooth transition so the increase is introduced in a controlled and predictable manner rather than all at once.
Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 due to the war in the Middle East.
