Gas prices in Pennsylvania are down since last week

Gas prices in Pennsylvania are finally beginning to fall, though they still remain a dollar higher on average than before the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Good news: the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania has dropped over the last week.

Bad news: It’s still higher than the national average; higher than any time since the spring and summer of 2022, when gas surpassed $5 per gallon due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and lingering pandemic disruptions; and a dollar more than when the US and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28.

According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.10 Wednesday, down from $4.16 last week, but still up from $2.98 before the US and Israel attacked Iran. 

Pennsylvania’s $4.13 average price is down from $4.19 last week—the first price drop since the war began, when gas was $3.12.

At $4.38, Mifflin and Warren counties currently have the highest average price for a gallon of gas in the commonwealth.

Montour County has the lowest average cost, at $3.82 a gallon. Montour is one of just three Pennsylvania counties with an average gas price of under $4.00 a gallon, along with Northumberland ($3.96) and Union ($3.99).

Here’s a breakdown of the current average gas cost per gallon in Pennsylvania’s top 10 metro areas, with last week’s prices in parentheses:

• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton: $4.04 ($4.17)
• East Stroudsburg: $4.06 ($4.21)
• Erie: $4.29 ($4.35)
• Harrisburg-Carlisle: $4.15 ($4.24)
• Lancaster: $4.13 ($4.23)
• Philadelphia: $4.09 ($4.16)
• Pittsburgh: $4.16 ($4.17)
• Reading: $4.16 ($4.29)
• Scranton-Wilkes-Barre: $4.16 ($4.24)
• York-Hanover: $4.11 ($4.16)

How is the war impacting gas prices?

In response to US and Israeli attacks, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global oil passes.

Concerns about how long disruptions could last for the production and transport of oil and natural gas in the region, and the possibility of even more, are what’s driving the higher prices.

After peace talks to end the war failed last weekend, the US on Monday began blockading ships trying to enter or leave Iranian ports. President Trump initially positioned the move as a blockade of “any and all ships” in the Strait of Hormuz, though military officials clarified that it would not impede the freedom of navigation of other vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Oil prices remained relatively stable Wednesday after steep falls in the previous session. 

How Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to ease pain at the pump

Pennsylvania’s gas tax is 57.6 cents per gallon, the fourth-highest gas tax in the country behind only California, Washington, and Illinois.

State and federal gas taxes provide more than 70% of the state’s highway and bridge funding. Some of that money goes to municipalities to support locally owned roads as well as the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Pennsylvania State Police.

Democratic state Sen. Lisa Boscola (Lehigh/Northampton) has introduced a proposal to suspend the state’s gas tax for 60 days. A similar effort failed in 2022, when legislators responded to a spike in oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When gas prices jumped just after the war began, Democratic state Reps. Joe Ciresi (Montgomery) and Jim Haddock (Lackawanna/Luzerne) called on Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office to investigate gas price gouging, alleging that prices started rising in Pennsylvania “as soon as the first bomb struck in Iran,” even though gas flowing at the pumps then had already been paid for.

What is the White House saying?

In an interview Sunday with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News, Trump had said fuel prices could be the same or “maybe a little bit higher” by the November congressional elections.

But in a separate interview with Bartiromo, which was taped on Tuesday at the White House and broadcast on Wednesday, Trump claimed he’d been misquoted and tried to overcome the blowback from his previous comments.

He said he’s happy with oil costing about $92 per barrel. “It’s going to come dropping down very big as soon as this is over,” he said, referring to the war. “And I think it can be over very soon.”

Later in the interview, he predicted that gas prices, now averaging slightly above $4 a gallon, will be “much lower” by the elections.

Speaking again about the war, Trump said, “When that’s settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously.”

How to find the cheapest gas prices

Whether you’re traveling or at home, the website GasBuddy offers information to find the cheapest prices for gasoline.

Enter your state, city, or ZIP code to find the cheapest fuel prices in the area.

Information from the Associated Press and USA Today via Reuters Connect was used in this report.