Monday morning gas prices in the Valley were just below the $5 mark, but as the afternoon moved on the prices moved up.

A comparison of local gasoline prices shows the average price for a gallon of regular has increased by at least 34 cents compared to a week ago.

"Currently we shut off all Russian imports so that doesn’t help things as far as price goes so without more production somewhere in the world, we’re going to end up paying more," said Bob Badowski, Chair of the School of Business at Westminster College. 

Early Monday morning, some gas stations in East Liverpool, Grove City, and Hermitage were charging $4.99, according to gasbuddy.com.

By Monday afternoon, several gas stations were charging $5.09.

"What you are seeing is the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine situation, crude oil prices spiked, gas prices came along with them and it cooled off for a little bit but now a couple weeks later we are at the point where gasoline prices are on the rise again because crude’s up, summer travel is up, more people are using or consuming gasoline, not just in America but throughout the world and oil and in addition to that you are seeing summer blend gasoline has hit the market which is one of the other reasons that prices went up over the past couple of weeks," said Jim Garrity from Triple-A.  

Below is a sampling of some local regular gasoline prices from gasbuddy.com as of Monday afternoon:

  • Austintown - $5.09 - Shell, 1704 S. Raccoon Rd.
  • Austintown - $5.09 - BP, 3602 Mahoning Ave.
  • Austintown - $4.77 - GetGo, 5162 Mahoning Ave.
  • Boardman - $5.09 - Shell, Market Street
  • Brookfield - $4.77 – Sunoco, Brookfield Road.
  • Campbell - $4.89 - Sunoco, 151 Struthers Liberty Rd.
  • Canfield -$5.09- Shell, 1510 Boardman-Canfield Rd.
  • Canfield - $4.79 - BP, E. Main St.
  • Champion - $4.79 – Kwik Fill, Mahoning Ave.
  • Cortland - $5.10 -Speedway, 548 S Mecca St
  • East Liverpool - $4.79 - 736 Dresden Ave.
  • East Liverpool - $4.99 - Marathon, St. Clair Ave.
  • Girard - $4.77 - Sunoco, S. State St.
  • Greenville - $4.89 - Sheetz, Main St.
  • Grove City - $4.99 - Marathon, W. Main St. Ext.
  • Hermitage - $4.79 – Sheetz, 1650 N Hermitage Rd
  • Howland - $4.75 – Sheetz, Elm Rd. NE
  • Hubbard - $4.77 – Sunoco, Youngstown-Hubbard Rd.
  • Kinsman - $4.89– Gulf, State Route 7
  • Liberty - $4.77 - Speedway, Belmont Ave.
  • Lisbon - $4.80 - Sunoco, State Route 45
  • Mercer - $4.89 - Sheetz, N. Erie St.
  • Newton Falls - $4.89 – Valero, Ridge Road
  • New Middletown - $4.79 - Sunoco, Main St.
  • Niles - $4.69 - Gulf, Youngstown Warren Rd.
  • North Lima - $5.09, Market Street.
  • Salem - $4.79 - Murphy USA, E. State St.
  • Sharon – $4.79 - Speedway, E. Connelly Blvd.
  • Struthers - $4.79 – Kwik Fill, Youngstown-Poland Road.
  • Warren - $4.89 – Sunoco, W. Market St.
  • Youngstown - $4.77 – Circle K, Mahoning Ave.

Triple-A reported on Monday that the cost of gasoline is increasing rapidly across the country in part due to seasonal trends and the rising cost of crude oil.

"When crude oil prices go up and down you should expect gas prices to do so because it’s the main ingredient in gas, 50 to 60 cents of every dollar you spend at the pump," Garrity said. "Not only are crude oil prices not cooling off which is what you would need to see lower gas prices, they are going in the opposite direction, crude is getting more expensive, it’s inching toward $120 a barrel. It would be wise as a consumer to prepare for more expensive gas prices, not cheaper gas prices, at least throughout the summer time until we get to the time of the year when gas prices tend to cool off anyways, when winter blend gas hits the market, people go back to school and so forth, which that tends to be in September."

Meanwhile, domestic gasoline demand rose last week in the wake of a robust Memorial Day weekend of travel. As a result, the national average for a gallon of gas surged 25 cents in one week to hit $4.86.

Monday’s national average is 59 cents more than a month ago, and $1.81 more than a year ago.

Garrity says people can lighten the loads in their car, not speed and make sure tires are properly inflated to get better gas mileage. They should also start budgeting for it. 

"That way it doesn’t take you off guard and put you in a position where you feel financial strain and tempt you to drive closer to E, drive closer to that empty mark, something we unfortunately saw in mid-March when there was an uptick in that as people really started to feel the pinch of those gas prices," Garrity said. "Now that they are going higher and crossing the five dollar marks in parts of our area, you need to be making these changes so you are not in a position where you are driving close to E, running out of gas, it’s dangerous, could be expensive as well."

According to gasbuddy.com, with hurricane season here, the storms also have the potential to wreak havoc on gas prices in the U.S., shutting down refineries or limiting the flow of fuel supply. A major hurricane in one part of the country can have nationwide ramifications.