Gas prices in most of Maine topped $4 per gallon over the weekend as war in the Ukraine intensifies and the U.S. and European allies discuss a Russian oil import ban.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Maine hit $4.09 on Monday, up 48 cents over the past week and up 63 cents over the past month, according to AAA. That is slightly above the national average of $4.06 and just below Maine’s record high of $4.14 in July 2008 during the Great Recession.
The average price for regular gas was the highest in York County at $4.18 per gallon. Piscataquis, Penobscot and Washington Counties remained slightly below $4 per gallon.
Prices throughout the rest of New England all topped $4 for a gallon of regular gas, with Connecticut being the highest at $4.28 and Vermont the lowest at $4.04.
GasBuddy lists some of the lowest prices in the state at the 7-Eleven in Lewiston, where a gallon of regular gas is $3.49, and Mapleton Oil in Fort Fairfield at $3.50 per gallon. Bangor’s lowest price is $3.85 at a Citgo station.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday proposed legislation in the Senate that would block imports of Russian oil, even though President Joe Biden has opposed such a measure. Maine’s congressional delegation has come out in favor of an import ban.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said Sunday that the House is exploring a ban on Russian oil and energy. Blocking the imports likely would increase gas prices more because Russia is one of the top oil producers in the world, according to Politico.