Gas prices in Massachusetts hit record high, AAA says

Gas prices in Massachusetts have hit a record high, according to new data Monday from AAA.The average price of regular gasoline in the Bay State is now $4.39 per gallon, according to AAA. The national average is $4.32 per gallon, AAA said.The price of diesel also hit a record high in Massachusetts. The price is now $6.27 per gallon — that’s more than double what it was one year ago. In Massachusetts, the average price for a gallon of regular has climbed 18 cents in the last week. In the last month, the average has increased by 27 cents.Experts said fluctuating oil prices and a tight gas supply are to blame for the recent spike. Price of diesel skyrocketsIt’s the price on gas station signs that many drivers do not notice, but diesel fuel is the unseen ingredient in so many of the things people buy — and in Massachusetts, diesel’s price has more than doubled.According to AAA, the average price of diesel fuel in Massachusetts has gone up from $3.03 per gallon a year ago to $6.27 per gallon as of Friday — an increase of 107%.Warren Shaw, of Shaw Farm, said he uses diesel fuel to power his tractors and other equipment on his dairy farm in Dracut. Next to feed for his cows, Shaw said diesel is his biggest expense.”Diesel is really cutting the heart out of our operating budget right now,” he said.Shaw, who is also president of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, said he has not yet raised his milk prices. He said the price of diesel fuel only has to go up by about a nickel more, however, for him to raise his prices on milk.The effect of fuel prices on food prices does not end at farms like Shaw’s. The trucks that haul food to stores also run on diesel, and so do the refrigerators those trucks pull.”It’s part of that whole inflation trend. I see that higher diesel number in almost everything I buy, because almost everything you’re buying is being delivered by truck and that means diesel fuel,” said Amy Jaffee, a research professor and managing director of the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.Because diesel prices have gotten so high, Shaw predicts that more oil refineries will soon switch to making that type of fuel. That would likely stabilize diesel prices, but the cost of gasoline will be driven up even more.”So none of it’s good,” Shaw said.The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently predicted food prices will rise between 5% and 6% this year.

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