Oregon average gas price back over $5 gallon; Central Oregon even higher

The gas price spike in Oregon that started late last week continued through the weekend. The average gas price in Oregon is again more than $5 per gallon.

In Central Oregon, the price is even higher.

AAA says the average price for regular unleaded in Oregon in Monday is now $5.01 a gallon. That’s up four cents overnight and 32 cents since Thursday.

In Bend, the average price for regular unleaded is now $5.11. That’s also a four-cent increase since Sunday and up 34 cents since Thursday.

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“Refinery snags in some areas of the country are contributing to wild fluctuations as areas of the West Coast, Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and Plains have seen significant refinery issues leading to supply challenges, causing prices to spike even as oil prices have dropped,” industry watcher GasBuddy said in a blog post. “However, the Northeast and Gulf Coast continue to see normal activity at refineries and prices there have dropped.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. 

AAA said the West Coast is unique in that supply and demand is perennially tight, so any disruption can cause an increase.

An AAA spokesperson said they don’t expect this rise to be long term, but said it could be a “bumpy” 2-3 weeks. 

Nationally, the average price for unleaded is up to $3.73 a gallon.