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NC Gas Prices at Three-Month High; Up 22 Cents from One Week Ago; Recent History Says Trending Upward

By Paul T. Choate

This is not what you want to see when you pull up to the gas station. Photos by Ken Ketchie
This is not what you want to see when you pull up to the gas station. Photos by Ken Ketchie

Feb. 21, 2013. Anyone pulling up to the pumps lately may have been in for quite a shock. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in North Carolina has skyrocketed up 22 cents from just a week ago to $3.79 per gallon, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. 

When we reported on gas prices hitting a three-month high 10 days ago on Feb. 11, prices were sitting at $3.52 per gallon in North Carolina, and things have only gotten worse. The average price for a gallon of gas is up 42.7 cents from only one month ago. 

If prices continue to climb at the rate they are currently, North Carolina may see a six-month high in gas prices soon. That occurred back in September 2012 when the price at the pumps hit $3.85 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. The one-year high was $3.91 per gallon, back in early April 2012.

The lowest gas price you will find in the High Country as of Thursday is at the Citgo station located at 1182 U.S. 321 in Sugar Grove, where it costs $3.559 per gallon to fill up, according to Motor Trend. A handful of other gas stations in the area are below $3.70 per gallon — though not many — but most are sitting below the state average.

chThe cheapest gas you will find in Boone today is at the Citgo at 2711 N.C. 105, where it costs $3.599 per gallon, according to Motor Trend. 

The cheapest gas you will find in Banner Elk today is located at the Exxon at 3980 N.C. 105, which has regular unleaded for $3.699 per gallon, according to Motor Trend.

Based on GasBuddy.com’s three-month average price chart for North Carolina, the state saw a three-month low back on Dec. 20, 2012, when gas was hovering around $3.21 per gallon, which was also the lowest average in the past year. 

For the past three years, gas prices have trended up this time of year, typically peaking out in April or May, before coming back down. 

Although $3.70 or more per gallon isn’t fun to see when you pull up to the pumps, North Carolina motorists are certainly better off now than they were back in early September 2012, when gas prices were peaking out close to $3.85 and up per gallon for regular unleaded. 

To find the lowest gas prices in your area, visit gasbuddy.com or motortrend.com/gas_prices.

To view the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, visit fuelgaugereport.aaa.com.