Oregon’s gas prices hover near record highs as spring break travelers hit the road

A row of fuel pumps at a gas station

Oregon gas prices dipped a bit this week, but still remain close to record highs.Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian

Oregon’s gas prices dipped slightly last week but remained near record highs, meaning Oregonians traveling for spring break will still be feeling the pressure at the pump.

The average price gas in Oregon this week is $4.71 a gallon, a dip of three cents from last week.

Most states in the nation are seeing a downturn, largely due to the decreasing price of crude oil. The nation’s average gas price is $4.24, a seven-cent drop from last week. Oregon has the fifth-most expensive gas in the nation, behind California, Nevada, Hawaii and Washington.

But AAA spokesperson Marie Dodds said in a weekly gas prices report that drivers shouldn’t get too comfortable with the declining rates.

“The tight global crude oil market remains, so it’s impossible to say whether gas prices will rise again or if they have peaked,” Dodds wrote.

Global oil prices spiked in February as Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. and European Union imposed tight sanctions on Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, bringing crude oil prices to nearly $130 a barrel. This week, a barrel of crude is in the $108 to $111 range.

Oregon hit a record high for gas prices on March 11, peaking at $4.74 per gallon and breaking a 14-year-old record. The previous state record was $4.29 on July 3, 2008. (Accounting for inflation, though, that price was the equivalent of $5.53 in today’s dollars.)

National prices also peaked March 11 at $4.33, breaking the 2008 record of $4.11.

Josephine and Curry counties have the highest gas prices in the state, at $4.87. Multnomah County is a close third, at $4.84 a gallon.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan

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