Winter On The Way but Gas Prices Still on The Rise

December 21 is the first day of winter and when winter arrives gas prices start to fall according to officials at GasBuddy.com. A fall in gas prices is expected but until then gas prices are on the rise in Yakima.

Gas in Yakima is selling for an average of $3.77 cents per gallon

GasBuddy officials says prices in Yakima are up 1.4 cents per gallon in the past week selling for an average of $3.77 cents per gallon. Gas prices in Yakima are 5.7 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.28 per gallon higher than a year ago. According to GasBuddy's survey of 91 stations the cheapest gas can be found in Wapato at $3.25 per gallon.

Gas is also up around the nation so no one is able to escape the impact

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 2.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.32 per gallon today. The national average is down 9.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.18 per gallon higher than a year ago.

GasBuddy officials say gas prices will soon enter a winter decline

"With the price of crude oil remaining some $13 per barrel below its 2021 peak, we have continued to see gas prices decline in nearly every city coast to coast, a trend that will likely continue into yet another week," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "Omicron concerns continue to be the primary catalyst for the drop in gas prices across much of the country. While we've seen some anecdotal reports about the new variant, vaccine producers have yet to definitively state if current vaccines will still bring adequate protection against omicron- something that might be critical to limit severity and to avoid new shutdowns. With OPEC+ members still planning to boost oil production in January, we continue to see global oil production slowly rising. In addition, U.S. gasoline demand last week fell to the lowest level since October, which may limit oil's recent rebound and keep gas prices declining through the end of the year."

Historical gasoline prices in Yakima and the national average going back ten years:
December 13, 2020: $2.49/g (U.S. Average: $2.14/g)
December 13, 2019: $3.15/g (U.S. Average: $2.57/g)
December 13, 2018: $2.99/g (U.S. Average: $2.39/g)
December 13, 2017: $2.92/g (U.S. Average: $2.45/g)
December 13, 2016: $2.52/g (U.S. Average: $2.22/g)
December 13, 2015: $2.35/g (U.S. Average: $2.01/g)
December 13, 2014: $2.79/g (U.S. Average: $2.56/g)
December 13, 2013: $3.25/g (U.S. Average: $3.24/g)
December 13, 2012: $3.37/g (U.S. Average: $3.29/g)
December 13, 2011: $3.50/g (U.S. Average: $3.26/g)

Everyone is paying higher prices this month

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:
Tacoma- $3.87/g, down 1.9 cents per gallon from last week's $3.89/g.
Seattle- $4.02/g, down 0.5 cents per gallon from last week's $4.03/g.
Washington- $3.86/g, unchanged  from last week's $3.86/g.