New Jersey now has among the nation’s highest gas prices

New Jersey is seeing some of the biggest increases in the cost of gasoline in the nation.

AAA puts the average for a gallon of regular in the Garden State at $3.85.

That is up 18-cents in a week and a 41-cent rise in the last month.

Prices had been steadily declining for three months in New Jersey since the cost of gasoline peaked at $5.05 a gallon in June.

They began rising four weeks ago even as demand for gasoline and oil prices dropped. Analysts say tight supply is to blame.

Patrick De Haan from GasBuddy.com notes the differences on the East and West Coast.

Washington, Oregon, and California have all seen prices drop between 12 and 29-cents per gallon.

In the East, prices are moving in the opposite direction

New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island have all seen prices rise between 17 and 27-cents per gallon.

More worrisome for consumers is the sharp rise in diesel fuel prices. A gallon of diesel is up nearly a dollar a gallon in the last month to $5.79.

Rising truck fuel prices are passed on to consumers through higher costs charged to ship products. That will only compound the inflationary costs that have been taking a bigger bite out of our household budgets.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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