The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Boone, Kenton and Campbell County is $4.33, according to the AAA Gas Price index.
Northern Kentuckians are paying more than they ever have for gasoline and diesel. Fuel prices in the region have reached record highs, economically straining the general public in ways that haven’t been felt since the 2008 Recession.
Nearly every gas station in Northern Kentucky has gasoline prices above $4.25, up from $3.29 when LINK nky last reported on fuel prices in February.
“Rising prices will disproportionately hit poor, working class, and middle class Americans,” John Brusuelas, chief economist at the Wall Street research firm RSM, told NPR in March.
Northern Kentuckians who drive non-electric vehicles have felt the dramatic increase in fuel prices in their everyday lives, whether it’s from driving their kids to school, commuting to work, or visiting with relatives who live further away.
Keith Smith, a security guard for Andy Frain Services, has had to make strategic choices on which jobs he can and can’t take due to his long commute to work. Smith lives in Pendleton County, and commutes to security shifts in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky throughout the week.
“Working security events in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati at different venues, it’s a 30 to 40 minute drive for me,” Smith said. “I’ve had to quit picking up jobs that were three to five hours long because it does not justify both the cost and time of an hour to a 90 minute drive round trip. I need an eight hour-plus job to make it feasible to pay for the gas and parking expenses of doing the job.”
A gallon of regular grade gasoline at Thornton’s in Wilder is selling for $4.39. Ron’s Sunoco Services Center in Covington is selling a regular gallon of gasoline $4.39. In Cold Spring, the new Tiger Oil station in Cold Spring was selling a gallon for $4.45.
The AAA Gas Prices index has the average price for a gallon of regular grade gasoline in Boone County is $4.31. For Kenton County, it’s $4.33, and in Campbell County, $4.36, the highest in the region. At the moment, Grant County has the cheapest average gasoline price in Northern Kentucky at $4.28. Pendleton County has the same average price per gallon as Campbell County at $4.36.
The average price per gallon is the highest in recorded history for Kentucky as a whole. The Washington Post reported yesterday that gasoline prices have reached over $4 in every state for the first time in history.
If you’re a farmer that drives a diesel truck, or a truck driver that transports goods across the region, diesel fuel prices are critical. The average diesel price per gallon in Kentucky is $5.26, the highest in recorded history.
Many factors play a role in the United States skyrocketing gasoline prices. The U.S. has experienced record high domestic inflation rates, coupled with strained supply and demand for oil. Geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine have contributed to the strained oil supply around the world, as Russia is one of the largest oil exporters on the planet.
In February, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called on Kentuckians to endure higher gasoline prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“While we will not have our sons and daughters on the ground as troops in the Ukraine, we will be called upon to endure,” Beshear said. “Things like higher gas prices. This is a small price to pay to stop an act of aggression though I do understand we will all feel it.”
Analysts at J.P Morgan are predicting gasoline prices could reach as high as $6 per gallon during the summer.
“If exports persist at this elevated pace and refinery runs — already near the top of the range for reasonable utilization rates — fall within our expectations, gasoline inventories could continue to draw to levels well below 2008 lows and retail gasoline prices could climb to $6/gal or even higher,” a JP Morgan Global Commodities Oil Flashnote report published this week said.
