The price of gasoline jumped in the last seven days after a summer of relatively stable prices at the pump.
The national average price of self-serve regular today is $2.740 a gallon, up from $2.685 last Friday, according to AAA. The price of diesel fuel is $2.975 a gallon, compared to $2.953 a week ago.
Analysts say the sudden rise in prices at the end of the summer driving season is probably temporary. It stems from a spike in crude oil prices after last week's leak in a major oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S.
Enbridge Energy’s “6A” pipeline, which carries crude oil from Canada to U.S. refineries in the Midwest, was closed a week ago Thursday as a result of a leak. There is no current estimate as to when the pipeline will be back in operation.
Another Enbridge pipeline has been shut down since late July and is still waiting approval from the Office of Pipeline Safety to restart. The repairs necessary to fix the pipeline are not considered to be extensive.
“Increased sensitivity in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, coupled with the fact that Enbridge facilities have suffered two incidents within six weeks of each other, could result in a more extensive regulatory review,” said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs. “This increased scrutiny could add additional time before the pipelines return to fully operational levels.”
The disruption hit several Midwestern states particularly hard, propelling Illinois and Michigan onto the list of the ten most expensive states for gas this week and dropping Missouri from the second cheapest state for gas to number nine.
The states with the most expensive gasoline today are:
