St. Cloud Gas Prices Creep Higher as OPEC Announcement Takes Markets by Surprise

(KNSI) — Gas prices are creeping higher after OPEC announced it would cut production by a million barrels daily, taking the markets by surprise.

“The oil market has had a few days to digest the OPEC news and speculate about the reason. This has led to the price of oil stabilizing for now,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, “but the cost of oil accounts for more than 50% of what we pay at the pump, so drivers may not catch a break at the pump any time soon.”

A gallon of regular unleaded in St. Cloud is around $3.43. That’s up roughly 15 cents from last week and 18 cents from a month ago. It’s also one cent higher than the statewide average of $3.42 but 17 cents lower than the national average of $3.60. Since Thursday, AAA says Minnesota is one of ten states that saw the largest average increases with an average spike of ten cents.

AAA cites new data from the Energy Information Administration saying gas demand increased slightly from 9.15 to 9.3 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased substantially by 4.1 million barrels to 222.6 million. Increased demand amid tighter supply has contributed to pushing pump prices higher. If demand continues to rise, pump prices will likely follow suit.

Prices also tend to spike in the spring as refineries switch to their summer blends just in time for the summer driving season. Find gas prices along your travel route by clicking here.

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