LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — If you’ve filled up recently, you definitely noticed the pain at the pump.
The average price of gas in Nevada is $3.67. A month ago, we were at $3.61.
Nevada gas prices are among the highest in the nation — behind only California and Hawaii. If you’re traveling by car this summer, don’t expect them to do go down anytime soon.
“Prices are terrible, but that’s part of life. Everything goes up,” one Las Vegas valley resident said.
Jeremy Aguero is the principal analyst with Applied Analysis. He says global demand for crude oil is rising as economies around the world rebound from the pandemic. That’s driving up prices at the pump.
“Right now demand is escalating tremendously, and higher than most people anticipated,” Aguero said.
“Some of the weather-related conditions have affected some of the refineries,” Aguero said. “There’s a natural transition as we switch over from the blend that’s used in the wintertime to the blend that is used in the summertime.”
Sergio Avila with AAA Nevada said the increase won’t stop travelers, but they might cut corners to save money on their trip.
“We thought there was going to be a plateau in this increase right around after Memorial Day, but we continued to see the price climb,” Avila said.
For some western states, there are also high taxes that are imposed on gas.
“One dollar increase in the price of gasoline means a billion dollars that’s essentially taken back out of our economy,” Aguero said. “And that’s a problem for us overall.”
Lots of people moving in from California means more demand, on top of leisure travel that is increasing.
“I’ve seen them go more up than down. Usually they were stable, but now with this instability and the economy, everything is going up,” said Dereck David, who has lived in the valley for 20 years.
Sam’s Club and Costco have the cheapest prices in town. You can find the least expensive gas near where you live by going on gasbuddy.com.
Remember, grocery stores like Smith’s offer fuel points that can lower the price, too.
Mosaic Church is hosting a four-hour event on June 26 at the Chevron gas station on St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, Nevada from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm where they will buy $1.00 of every gallon of gas sold.
Consumers will pay $1.00 less than the current gas price. This means, if the price of gas is $3.50 a gallon, the consumer will pay $2.50 a gallon.
Mosaic Church will also be handing out free water bottles. Volunteers will be on hand to pump gas and wash windows.
The Chevron will also be offering discounted car washes during this period
Please note, they are not allowing people to fill outside containers during this event.