On average, U.S. consumers are paying about 28 cents more for a gallon of gas than they were last year because of higher taxes, the government said.

A briefing from the U.S. Energy Information Administration published Tuesday said that the average taxes and fees in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, in place as of July 1 added 27.9 cents to the price per gallon.

Motor club AAA reports a national average retail price for regular unleaded gasoline at $2.54 per gallon, up 32 cents from this date last year. The four-week moving average, based on federal data, is 38 cents higher than last year, though recent prices are skewed higher because of the impacts to the nation's refinery sector from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The current four-week average is higher than a similar period in 2015 by 29 cents.

Harvey made landfall in Texas in late August and hit the large concentration of refineries in the region. Hurricane Irma followed in September and hit Florida, which caused further market strains because the state has no refineries of its own and adjustments were needed to compensate for the lack of balance.

Nevertheless, EIA said higher state taxes were contributing to higher trends this year in gasoline prices.

"Gasoline buyers in the United States pay these taxes at the pump in addition to the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, which has remained unchanged since 1993," the report said.

Gasoline prices usually decline in the waning months of the year because of travel miles move lower after the summer. The national average price for a gallon of gas on Sept. 11, $2.69, was the highest for that date in roughly two years.

EIA said in its latest monthly forecast it was expecting prices at the retail level to decline as the nation's refinery sector recovers from recent hurricanes. The national average for October should be $2.40 per gallon, but that estimate is still 10 cents higher than the federal government expected in its August forecast.

Gas prices by December should be $2.23 per gallon. The highest price on record was $4.11 per gallon in July, 2008.

Tweet

OPEC-member Libya still in turmoil, EU report finds
Washington (UPI) Oct 1, 2017
A European memo on the status of stability in OPEC-member Libya warns that progress in the war-torn country may be limited. The EUobserver reported Monday it obtained access to a "restricted" report from the European Union's Border Assistance Mission in Libya that describes lingering fractures remaining in Libya six years after civil conflict led to the death of long-time ruler M ... read more

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only