Gas prices rise in Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Gas prices are the highest they have been for mid-January since 2014.

According to a report out Monday morning from GasBuddy.com, Myrtle Beach gas prices have risen 3.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.25 a gallon as of Sunday. The average is pulled from the 197 gas stations that report prices to GasBuddy.com.

While fuel prices along the Grand Strand are steadily increasing, prices are still far less than the national average, which sits at $2.52 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.

The hike in fuel costs puts Sunday’s costs 16.4 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and 10.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

“While winter is usually a time for modest declines at the pump, this year has seen anything but,” admits Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “While two years ago areas of the country flirted with sub-$1 gas prices, we now see most areas more than double that.”

DeHaan predicts prices aren’t likely to dip very much in the coming weeks as most refiners begin to move winter gasoline out of inventories to prepare for the transition to cleaner-burning gasoline, which typically happens in mid-February.

Gasoline prices on January 15 in Myrtle Beach have ranged widely over the last five years: