Broken records: Gas and diesel reach new highs once again in Massachusetts

BOSTON — We are in new, record territory again when it comes to gas and diesel prices in Massachusetts.

AAA says the average price of regular gas is now $4.39. That’s up nine cents since Friday and tops a previous record high of $4.36 set in March. Prices here in Massachusetts are six cents higher than the national average. A 17-gallon tank will now cost you 75 dollars to fill.

Diesel fuel is now $6.27 - also a new record and up six cents since Friday and $1.13 higher than a month ago. Diesel is up 107% since last year at this time. A 17-gallon tank of diesel will now cost you more than $106 to fill.

“With the cost of oil accounting for more than half of the pump price, more expensive oil means more expensive gasoline,” said Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast Director of Public and Government Affairs. “Locally, prices have now moved past those record high levels of early March.”

Broken records: Gas and diesel reach new highs once again in Massachusetts Broken records: Gas and diesel reach new highs once again in Massachusetts

And drivers tell Boston 25 the extra cost is cutting into their discretionary spending.

More than a week ago, Democrats in Congress announced an effort to give the Federal Trade Commission increased authority to crack down on companies that engage in price gouging.

[ Top Democrats push for federal crackdown on high gas prices ]

In doing so, they downplayed the possibility of other options such as a federal gas tax holiday or offering oil companies more government incentives to increase production. Instead, they said the FTC needs more tools, including stiffer fines and penalties and a team of dedicated experts to monitor markets and go after price gouging.

Industry groups dismissed use of the FTC to investigate price manipulation as a political stunt. “Using the power of the FTC to undertake political investigations of American energy companies will not lower gas prices by a penny,″ said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, a trade association representing independent oil and natural gas companies.

Republicans were equally dismissive of the Democratic proposal.

“My Democratic colleagues are doubling down on their blatant blame-shifting for political cover,’’ said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state. “The American people know this isn’t price gouging or Putin’s price hike. It’s a Biden price hike since the day he took office.”

President Joe Biden, aware of the political stakes, has vowed to do all he can to ease “pain at the pump for American families,” including ordering the release of record amounts of oil from the nation’s strategic reserve.

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