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August 4, 2023

Gas prices are climbing in Maine, and here's why

By William Hall

If you're feeling more pain at the pump, you're not alone. Mainers are paying steadily higher gasoline prices that have increased a nickel per gallon over just the past week.

Data from GasBuddy.com, which tracks gas prices nationwide, showed the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Maine was $3.78 on Friday morning. That's up from $3.73 on July 28 and from $3.60 a month ago. In fact, Friday morning's average price was the highest in the state all year, according to GasBuddy.

Across Maine, the cost to fuel up ranged from a low of $3.72 a gallon in Androscoggin County to a per-gallon high of $3.86 in Aroostook County.

Prices began 2023 at a statewide average of $3.40 a gallon and fell a couple of weeks later to $3.33. Since then, however, they've been steadily tracking upward.

While still far from Maine's all-time peak price of $5.10 a gallon on June 15, 2022, the increase comes in the thick of the state's tourism season and could deter some travel, experts have said.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan this week attributed the rising prices to ”heat-related refinery outages,” amid the lowest July gasoline inventories since 2015. Last month was the Earth’s hottest July on record.

Nationally, the average price for a regular unleaded gas increased to $3.77 per gallon on Wednesday, the highest level since Nov. 12. However, that peak was also much less than the all-time national high of $5.02 in June 2022. This week, California was the only state where prices more than $5 were recorded.

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