Gasoline prices in Oklahoma hit $4 a gallon average this weekend while diesel fuel used by truckers is officially at $6 a gallon.
AAA reported Saturday that diesel fuel averaged $6.48 nationally while in Oklahoma it was an even $6 a gallon. Analysts blame the wars against Iran and between Ukraine and Russia for sending prices up. CNBC reported it also means those higher costs will eventually hit consumers.
Economists and supply chain experts say what starts in the transportation sector, where trucking and rail companies are feeling the pain now — will eventually push prices on virtually everything in the economy up.
This is not surprising, because diesel is the economy’s single most universal tangible input, said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation Group.
The first to feel it are freight haulers, but there will be plenty of other losers — consumers and companies — if diesel remains at record price levels.
Oklahoma’s current average for diesel fuel compares to $5.76 a week ago, $5.03 last month and $3.27 just one year ago. Diesel fuel averages $5.99 per gallon in Oklahoma City, reported AAA while Tulsa’s average is $5.98 per gallon.
Close to home, Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services warned investors in the past several days about third-quarter earnings and blamed rising prices of fuel. Freight Waves reported that shares were down 12% a few days ago. Company executives said late Tuesday at an investor conference that near-term cost pressures were outpacing pricing gains, likely resulting in a 5% to 10% sequential decline in EPS for the current period. It pointed to a sharp runup in diesel fuel prices and driver-related expenses as the primary culprits.
The trucking magazine also reported diesel prices were up 10% sequentially from July to August and have continued to step higher through September. Diesel prices have increased sequentially in eight of the 11 weeks of the third quarter.
In the CNBC article, it was pointed out that consumers are getting a taste of what could come next in the form of already higher prices at the gas pump. What is driving up gas prices right now isn’t just the price of oil, said Jeff Lenard, vice president of media and strategic communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores. It’s the price of diesel. The cost to get the gas to the gas station is the driving factor behind the steady increase at the pump.
As for gasoline, the average price per gallon in Oklahoma is up to $4.06 while it stood at $4.07 per gallon in Oklahoma City and $4.01 in Tulsa on Saturday. Some places in the state have higher averages such as $4.59 per gallon in Coal County and $4.45 in both Dewey and Ellis counties.
Gas
The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are California ($6.08), Washington ($5.57), Hawaii ($5.48), Nevada ($5.19), Oregon ($5.11), Alaska ($5.07), Idaho ($4.85), Utah ($4.81), Illinois ($4.78), and Michigan ($4.75).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Indiana ($3.92), Texas ($3.93), Mississippi ($3.93), Louisiana ($3.97), Alabama ($3.99), Arkansas ($4.03), Oklahoma ($4.04), Tennessee ($4.05), Kansas ($4.06), and Georgia ($4.08).
