South Carolina Gas Prices Shatter Records

Aug. 10–Grab more antacids. The pain from rising gas prices keeps getting worse.

Average prices set new records Tuesday in Columbia and a host of nearby cities, as well as nationally, according to AAA Carolinas.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Columbia reached $2.184, up 42.8 cents from $1.756 a year ago. Myrtle Beach was the only S.C. city posting a higher average price: $2.21 a gallon.

The state average reached $2.183 a gallon, also a record. The national average hit a new high at $2.354 a gallon, up 47.6 cents from $1.878 this time last year.

Sarah Davis, spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas, said the higher gas prices come from record crude oil prices driven by concern about both Middle Eastern and domestic events.

Iran’s push to develop nuclear weapons has been one foreign concern, while recent fires at oil refineries in Texas and Pennsylvania have been a domestic concern, Davis said.

“If (fuel) demand doesn’t waver, we can expect to see these prices continue,” including during the Labor Day weekend, Davis said.

AMONG TUESDAY’S NEW RECORD HIGHS:

–Asheville, $2.312

–Atlanta, $2.292

–Charleston, $2.182

–Charlotte, $2.253

–Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem, N.C., $2.267

–Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, $2.280

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