Minnesotans paying $1.67 more per gallon than in January 2021

The price of gas has been a salient talking point in the media as costs continue to climb. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that average Minnesota gas prices for the week ending January 18, 2021, were $1.67 per gallon lower than they were on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

These higher prices are translating to huge costs for Minnesota families, who consume an average of 1,053 gallons of gasoline per year, according to EIA data. This means these families will pay an additional $1,760 more for gas this year, assuming oil prices remain at $3.93 per gallon than they would have if gas had stayed at $2.26 per gallon.

Oil prices are high for many reasons, including chronic underinvestment in the global oil industry, low production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden-administration policies like canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, canceling oil and gas leases on federal land, and attempting to appoint anti-fossil fuel activists to the Federal Reserve, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, gas prices are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.