$5 per gallon for regular gasoline in Greensboro? 'Not if, but when'

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – The price you are paying for a gallon of gasoline is now officially in record territory – with $5 per gallon perhaps on the horizon.

After declining slightly on Memorial Day weekend, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline leaped by 18.4 cents a gallon in the Greensboro market this week, GasBuddy’s weekly survey of fuel outlets revealed.

That placed the price at $4.48 per gallon, which is shy of the state’s average of $4.51. But AAA’s survey shows that average at a record high of $4.524 statewide. The price of fuel in North Carolina rose by more than 17 cents per gallon this week (nationally that figure was 26 cents).

GasBuddy’s survey of 150,000 fuel outlets show these price ranges for gasoline. (GASBUDDY.COM)

Diesel prices also have set a record, AAA reports, averaging $5.693 (although $5.679 in Greensboro).

And, with prices in the Greensboro area now 45.2 cents above where they were a month ago and 56% (or $1.59) more than a year ago, that “5” at the front of the price may become the norm sooner than we might have expected.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan caused a bit of a social media furor last week when he suggested that appeared very likely to happen. Nine states already have reached that average, he said. In California the average is more than $6 per gallon. GasBuddy found at least one outlet in Greensboro already has posted a price surpassing $5 as of Sunday.

“After a blistering week of gas prices jumping in nearly every town, city, state and area possible, more bad news is on the horizon. It now appears not if, but when, we’ll hit that psychologically critical $5 national average,” De Haan said in GasBuddy’s weekly release. “Gasoline inventories continue to decline even with demand softening due to high prices, a culmination of less refining capacity than we had prior to COVID and strong consumption, a situation that doesn’t look to improve drastically anytime soon.

“Nine states have average gas prices that stand beyond the $5 per gallon mark, with more set to join in the days and weeks ahead. In addition, diesel prices also stand at a record high, a second gut-punch to consumers which pushes prices of most goods higher.”

GasBuddy, which surveys about 150,000 fuel outlets nationally on a real-time basis, reported that the national price of gasoline rose 26 cents to $4.85 last week (AAA has today’s price at $4.865). Both prices are about 56 cents more than a month ago.

GasBuddy reports the cheapest price in Greensboro on Sunday was $4.28 – on Monday morning several were showing $4.29, from Summerfield to High Point – but the most expensive was $5.49, although it was unclear which outlet was charging that level.

By comparison, the average price in Winston-Salem was $4.47, up 17.9 cents, and in Durham it was $4.51, up 11.6 cents.