Yes.
Gas prices in Arizona have gone up by around $1.00 since the start of 2021.
The rise initially began in late 2020 with the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Crude oil, which is refined and then pumped into your car, dropped dramatically in cost when demand for gas plunged during lockdown. Consumer costs then rose through 2021 and 2022 as pre-pandemic driving habits returned.
Wars in Israel and Ukraine, resulting in bans on Russian oil and fears of a larger Middle East conflict, have also increased volatile fuel pricing.
In Arizona, strict regulations requiring the use of Cleaner Burning Gasoline (CBG) in some counties can keep prices higher than other states. In 2024, issues with an Arizona CBG pipeline threatened to raise prices through the summer, but the Environmental Protection Agency took steps to mitigate consumer impacts.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- AAA Gas Prices, Arizona Average Gas Prices January 26, 2021
- AAA Gas Prices, Arizona Average Gas Prices June 13, 2021
- Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. wholesale fuel prices rise above pre-COVID-19 levels
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, From the barrel to the pump: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prices for petroleum products
- U.S. Senate Budget Committee, Prepared Testimony of Robert McNally, President, Rapidan Energy Group, Bottlenecks and Backlogs: How Climate Change Threatens Supply Chains United States Senate Committee on the Budget
- California Energy Commission, What Drives California’s Gasoline Prices?
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Brent crude oil prices averaged $19 per barrel less in 2023 than 2022
- Arizona Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Letter granting Cleaner Burning Gasoline waiver
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
