Gasoline prices in Greater Worcester have risen to $3.40 per gallon since the U.S. and Israel launched a coordinated military strike on Iran on Feb. 28.
On Tuesday, the average price of a regular gallon of unleaded gasoline in the Worcester metro area sat at $3.40, marking a 14.54% increase from the average price on March 3, according to data from AAA Northeast.
“Global supply issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East could cause additional export pressure on the United States as more countries look to different sources to meet their energy needs,” Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesman for AAA Northeast, said in a Monday press release.
Of the seven Massachusetts metro areas analyzed by AAA, Greater Worcester had the third-highest gas price Tuesday and the third-largest weekly increase.
Greater Worcester followed the Springfield and Seekonk metro areas, whose gas prices rose 16.81% and 14.11%, respectively, over the week. The commonwealth’s average price rose 12.75% to $3.31 per gallon.
Greater Worcester’s average diesel price saw a larger increase than regular gasoline, rising 22.61% over the week.
“Even with strong domestic production of oil and refined products, gas prices are heavily influenced by the price of crude oil,” Schieldrop said.
Since Feb. 27, the price of a barrel of crude oil rose from $70.50 to $94.89 on Monday. Prices fell on Tuesday morning to $84.07, according to commodity data provider Trading Economics.
Gas prices across the nation rose more than 15% over this past week, representing the highest weekly increase since 2022 when a gallon of regular unleaded gas peaked at $5.05, the highest recorded average by AAA.
The percentage increase and cost of regular gasoline in each of the seven Massachusetts metro areas analyzed by AAA as of Tuesday are:
- Greater Springfield: 16.81% increase to $3.36 per gallon
- Greater Seekonk: 14.11% increase to $3.34 per gallon
- Greater Worcester: 14.54% increase to $3.40 per gallon
- Greater Boston: 14.34% increase to $3.41 per gallon
- Cambridge–Newton–Framingham area: 13.7% increase to $3.44 per gallon
- Greater Pittsfield: 11.46% increase to $3.36 per gallon
- Greater Barnstable–Yarmout: 11.38% increase to $3.38 per gallon
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
