Gas spike hits road trips
National average regular gas jumped to $3.925/gal on March 21 — a 28-cent weekly rise with some states seeing more than 30% increases since the Iran war began, which will materially affect spring U.S. road trips. (m.economictimes.com) Practical hack: use Google Maps’ cheap-gas search tools to cut fuel costs on long park-to-park runs. (androidauthority.com)
AAA’s weekly fuel snapshot shows the national regular-gas average rose to $3.942 on March 22, up from $3.699 a week earlier, according to the auto club’s March data release. (gasprices.aaa.com) Monthly state-by-state tracking from AAA, compiled by Newsweek, puts Arizona at the top of the month-over-month jumps (+96¢ between Feb. 13 and Mar. 13), followed by New Mexico (+94¢), Colorado (+87¢) and California (+85¢ to $5.416 per gallon). (newsweek.com) Analysts note the increases are broad-based: prices have risen in all 50 states since Feb. 28, the date analysts mark as the start of the recent escalation, with several Midwest states posting some of the largest percentage gains. (gobankingrates.com) Global crude swings drove much of the pump pain — Brent crude briefly spiked to $119.50 per barrel in early March and remained above $100 for stretches while U.S. WTI traded near $99, intensifying upward pressure on retail gasoline. (money.usnews.com) AAA flagged rising spring travel demand as a compounding factor, noting “Rising Pump Prices, Higher Gas Demand as Spring Break Begins” in its March commentary on national averages. (gasprices.aaa.com) Independent testing and recent reviews found local pump-price variance of 30–40 cents within short distances, and Google Maps’ station price listings aggregate user and station reports to surface those local gaps for drivers. (tomsguide.com)
