NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah — As prices soar across the country, gas at one Salt Lake Valley station closed to within one-tenth of a penny short of reaching the vaunted $4 per gallon mark Monday.
FOX 13 News reporter Scott McKane was reporting from the Maverik in North Salt Lake when the price of gallon of gas jumped a whopping 20-cents to $3.99. The station was one of a few in the valley to hit that mark to begin the week, with the GasBuddy tracking service showing at least 10 locations with that price.
The move coincides with the national average price of regular gasoline breaking $4 per gallon on Sunday for the first time since 2008. As of Monday, AAA reports the national average at $4.06, with Utah's average currently standing at $3.858.
“There is no end in sight, I am actually in the fuel business ... and there is no end in sight, no, you‘re going to see it go up much more the next few weeks without a doubt,” said Ken Moser.
While the state's average is below $4 gallon, there are six counties where the price has topped that mark:
- Beaver
- Emery
- Kane
- Morgan
- Summit
- Washington
“Yeah, it’s crazy! It’s hard to to make things work, we actually had somebody come steal gas from one of our trucks over the weekend too, so apparently it’s expensive enough to start stealing it from vehicles that are parked," said local HVAC installer Brady Hess.
The Associated Press reports the price of regular gas rose by almost 41 cents during the first full week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While prices are rising in Utah, they are still way below the highest average price per gallon in California, which reached $5.29.
Experts say in order to squeeze every last mile from a fill up, to make sure all tires are inflated properly and make sure vehicles are tuned up. Also, remove heavy items from vehicles and cargo carriers, or anything else that might unnecessarily way down your car.
Utah's highest recorded price for a regular gallon of gas was $4.22 set in July 2008.
