US gasoline prices stuck at 7-Year highs as East Coast fuel shortages continue

Gasoline prices remained elevated, with many stations staying shut despite the restart of operations at the Colonial Pipeline network following the May 7 cyberattack.

Reuters reports prices were at the highest in seven years, and almost 11,670 gas stations remained closed on Monday, according to data from GasBuddy. The latest data from the company shows a decline in that number, to 11,217 stations.

GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan also said that as of 9 pm on Monday, 73 percent of fuel stations in Washington DC were still out of gasoline—the nation's capital was the hardest hit by fuel shortages, with close to 90 percent of stations out of fuel at the end of last week.

A ransomware attack shut down the Colonial Pipeline network on May 7, cutting off some 45 percent of gasoline and diesel supply for the East Coast and prompting government agencies to scramble for alternative methods of transportation and granting temporary waivers from legislative restrictions for the transportation of fuels such as the Jones Act, which prohibits foreign-flagged vessels from moving between US ports.

At the same time, the shutdown prompted thousands to make a run on gas stations in most of the East Coast, despite calls against panic buying. This led to some thousand stations warning that they were running out of gasoline and diesel last week. According to Energy Secretary Granholm, rural areas in the Southeast were likely to start receiving fuels at a normal rate by last weekend. The panic buying spree sent the national US average gasoline price above $3 per gallon for the first time since 2014.

"The Southeast will continue to experience tight supply this week as terminals and gas stations are refueled," an AAA spokeswoman said, as quoted by Reuters. "Over the weekend, gas prices started to stabilize, but are expected to fluctuate in the lead up to Memorial Day weekend."

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com