No Holiday From High Gas Prices This Memorial Weekend

The pain continues at the pump as average gasoline prices in Yakima have risen 16.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $5.04 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 91 stations in Yakima. GasBuddy officials say gas prices in Yakima are 42.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and they're $1.60 per gallon higher than a year ago. While gas prices are climbing so to are diesel prices. The price of diesel has risen 22.6 cents nationally in the past week and stands at $5.51 per gallon.

Have prices started to slow down?

“Gasoline prices surged over the last week to new record highs, but have finally started to slow their rise with diesel also finally cooling off," says Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "With more Americans planning to hit the road for Memorial Day this year compared to last, prices will be over $1.50 per gallon higher than last year. Though, prices are appearing to slow down, for now. While the coast isn't clear yet, and prices will be at their highest Memorial Day level ever, I'm hopeful that we could avoid a dreaded national average of $5 per gallon this year. Whether or not we're able to depends on Americans cutting demand in the face of sky high prices."

If you're looking for cheap gas you'll have to drive to Wapato

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in the valley is in Wapato priced at  $4.33 per gallon. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $4.33 per gallon while the highest was $6.19 per gallon.

The national price of gas is up more than a dime a gallon

According to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country, the national average price of gasoline has risen 11.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.57 per gallon today. The national average is up 45.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.55 per gallon higher than a year ago.