Average price of gas surpasses $4 per gallon in Las Vegas
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Las Vegas surpassed $4 per gallon over the weekend.
As of Monday morning, the average price of gas in the Las Vegas Valley is $4.01, according to AAA data.
Over the last week gas in Las Vegas is up 7 cents and in the last month the price has surged 24 cents per gallon.
In Reno, prices are nearing an all-time high, with an average price of $4.25 per gallon — just 2 cents shy of the $4.27 record set in 2012. The Reno area was on the brink of tying the record over the weekend as the average price was noted to be $4.26 per gallon on Sunday, just 1 cent off the record.
Las Vegas has a ways to go to approach its all-time mark of $4.26 a gallon, set in June of 2008.
Statewide the average price of regular unleaded fuel is $4.02 a gallon, up $1.01 compared to the same day in 2021 and up 22 cents over the last month. The last time gas prices hit $4 per gallon in Nevada was on Sept. 9, 2021, according to AAA.
The continued price increase is tied to the jump in the cost of crude oil, which surpassed the $100 per barrel price mainly as result of Russia invading Ukraine, according to AAA spokesman Aldo Vazquez.
“Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine has roiled the oil market, with crude oil spiking briefly to over $100 per barrel before settling back into the mid-$90s,” Vazquez said. “The increase in the global price of oil has led to higher pump prices in the U.S.”
The conflict in Ukraine led to financial sanctions by the U.S. and its allies, which in turn has impacted the global oil market.
“Like the U.S. stock market, the oil market responds poorly to volatility,” Vazquez said. “The increase in demand and decrease in supply contributes to rising oil prices, but as long as the price of crude continues to climb, so too will gas prices.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
