Washington gas prices up 10 cents in April alone

SEATTLE - Despite tensions running high in the Middle East, the cost of oil has slightly decreased, but gas prices have gone up since Iran's drone attack on Israel.

The national average for a gallon of gas sits at $3.67, up four cents since last week. In Seattle, the cost per gallon is $4.83, also having increased by about four cents within a week. The average cost per gallon in Washington is $4.67 per gallon.

According to AAA, the cost of oil reached the upper $80s per barrel, but has since fallen several dollars into the low $80s as the oil market watches to see if any further military actions occur in the Middle East.

"The situation overseas with war in both the Middle East and Ukraine has the oil market on edge," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. "But this is also the time of year we may see a bit of a lull in gasoline demand between the end of spring breaks and ahead of Memorial Day. So the national average for gas may waffle a bit with small increases, some flat days, and even some price dips.

Gas demand slightly rose from 8.61 to 8.66 million barrels per day (b/d) last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 1.1 million barrels to 227.4 million barrels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

The national average of $3.67 per gallons is 21 cents more than a month ago, but the same as a year ago.

Credit: AAA

Washington is the third most expensive market for gas, surpassing Nevada ($4.63), Oregon ($4.44), Alaska ($4.37), Arizona ($3.13), Utah ($3.96), Illinois ($3.96), and Idaho ($3.93). California ($5.45) and Hawaii ($4.78) retain the top two spots.

Gas prices in Washington have seen a steady increase, being about 10 cents more expensive than what they were at the beginning of April.