The recent bump in gasoline prices in St Joseph reflects a national trend in what amounts to the longest stretch of rising pump prices in more than two years.
Prices in St Joe on Monday jumped another dime to $2.29 per gallon.
“Paying $2 for gas will seem like a distant memory for most drivers in the coming weeks,” said Avery Ash, AAA spokesman.
“Gasoline remains much cheaper than in recent years, but drivers may not appreciate that fact given the steep increase in price over the past month.”
Meanwhile, some workers are crossing picket lines in the lingering U.S. refinery strike, with companies pushing laborers to return to work by saying they could lose their bonuses. A month into the biggest U.S. refinery walkout in 35 years, money is tight as strike pay from the United Steelworkers union is a fraction of normal wages. Reuters reports about 6,550 workers are on strike at 15 plants, including 12 refineries with a fifth of U.S. capacity. Companies are relying on temporary replacements to keep plants open.
According to the San Antonio Business Journal, a text message alert from the United Steelworkers bargaining group reports that contract negotiations are expected to resume this Wednesday.
There’s no mention of the refinery strike in Triple A’s analysis of increasing gas prices. The auto club says U.S. average gas prices have increased 35 days in a row for a total of 39 cents per gallon, making this the longest consecutive streak of rising prices since February 2013. Triple A says prices are up primarily due to a combination of rising crude oil costs, refinery maintenance and unplanned production problems. Analysts say the national average price of gas could rise by 20 cents per gallon or more in March as refinery maintenance season continues.