SALT LAKE CITY — The rise in cost for Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, is having a big impact in Utah as drivers have seen a 20-cent rise in gas prices over the past week.
Thursday morning, Brent crude surged in price to $126.41 a barrel before it fell to $115.80 a barrel. That still is $73-a-barrel above where it was trading before the war, and almost double its price from the start of the year.
Locally in the Beehive State, the average price for a gallon of gas reached $4.36 on Thursday morning. One year ago, that price was at $3.31 a gallon.
Utah's prices also range above the national average. Currently, AAA reports that the national average for a gallon of gas is $4.30.
Utah's prices for gas are still far from their all-time high, which was set on July 1, 2022, when a gallon of regular unleaded cost $5.26.
Global crude prices have risen for over a week straight, as negotiations between the US and Iran to end the war stalled, and the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, is still effectively shut down.
