SC drivers will see higher gas prices ahead of July 4th holiday weekend

Hitting the road this Fourth of July weekend will cost you more at the pump in the Carolinas.

After weeks of falling fuel prices in the Palmetto State, gas prices in the Carolinas on Monday saw the largest weekly increase in the country at 13 cents, according to AAA, a national association of motor clubs.

The upward trend is national. Across the country gas prices jumped a nickel Monday ahead of the Independence Day holiday.

According to AAA’s gas price page, the average price for a gallon of gas in South Carolina on Wednesday was $2.39. That’s up 10 cents from a week ago, but still less than this time last year, when a gallon of gas averaged $2.53. And it is well below the national average of $2.75.

Average gasoline prices in the Palmetto State were $2.44 per gallon a month ago.

The fuel price increases are the result of various factors.

U.S. crude oil prices jumped $8 a barrel in the past two weeks, driven by a higher demand for gasoline timed with the start of summer and worsened by the closure of a Philadelphia refinery, which created a short-term decline in supply along the East Coast, according to AAA.

Oil-producing countries, too, are expected to reduce their daily production again this week, which could push crude oil prices higher.

Also on Monday, S.C. drivers began paying an additional 2 cents a gallon in state gas tax, bringing the total tax paid at the pump to nearly 23 cents a gallon. The gas tax increase is the third of six annual 2 cent hikes state leaders approved in 2017.

South Carolina drivers can find the cheapest gas in Charleston, Dorchester, Newberry and Spartanburg counties, with prices as low as $2.12 a gallon, according to GasBuddy, a tech company that provides real-time information on fuel prices.

In Columbia, the lowest gas prices Wednesday were $2.22 at Sam’s Club on Harbison Boulevard and $2.25 at Shell on Bush River Road near Berry Hill Road, Murphy USA and City Gas on Bush River near Zimalcrest Drive, and Costco and Piney Grove Road.

AAA Carolinas estimates 688,500 South Carolinians will drive 50 or more miles away from home for the Fourth of July.

AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Tiffany Wright, in a press release, attributed that number to relatively low gas prices, a strong economy, low unemployment and rising incomes. With school out for the summer and the holiday falling on a Thursday, many people are likely to take a long weekend or the entire week off, Wright said.

To help holiday travelers, the S.C. Department of Transportation says it will pause lane closures on interstate highways, including I-95, for non-emergency highway work during the Fourth of July holiday travel period.

These restrictions will be in place from 6 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Friday.

Georgia and North Carolina also announced plans to pause construction on major travel routes this week.

South Carolina DOT incident response crews will be working over the July 4 holiday to help drivers and help keep traffic flowing.

This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 3:59 PM.