West Coast fuel prices, already the highest in the Continental U.S., will continue to rise, even as the rest of the country looks forward to gasoline dropping below $3 a gallon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts. …
Hawaii sometimes has the most-expensive fuel in the U.S. But on the mainland, California, Washington and Oregon, in that order, consistently have the highest fuel prices.
In the past year, Washington has closed the gap with California, leading the U.S. in rising fuel prices. Washington’s average regular gas price on Aug. 28 was 22 cents higher than last year. The average cost of diesel was 55 cents higher, according to AAA. …
Washington’s nation-leading surge in fuel prices has coincided with a hike in fuel taxes and a near doubling in the cost of complying with cap-and-trade.
The Legislature raised the gas tax by 6 cents per gallon and the diesel tax by 9 cents on July 1. Washington’s 55.4 cents per gallon gas tax is the third-highest in the U.S. and its 58.4 cents diesel is second-highest.
Cap-and-trade allowances sold a year ago for $29.92 apiece, adding an estimated 24 per gallon to gas and 30 cents to diesel. At the most recent auction in June, allowances sold for $58.31, adding 47 cents to gas and almost 60 cents to diesel.
Read the Complete Article »