Gas prices continue to climb across the state and nation amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
According to AAA, the current average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in South Carolina is $3.86 while the national average has exceeded $4 a gallon for the first time in four years.
Clemson University Economics Professor Matthew Lewis provided insight on factors fueling the increase. He says there are two main contributors. The most common is crude oil prices which are set on a world market and account for more than 50% percent of how wholesale costs are determined.
A close second, according to Lewis, are refining margins or the difference between the costs of acquiring and selling crude oil and the total revenue generated from selling refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuel.
"In addition to oil prices and refining margins, the competition between gas stations can cause a fluctuation in price," Lewis said. "[We often] see areas where stations get into a dynamic form of competition where prices rise very quickly and then fall fairly steadily, then rise again in a cyclical pattern."
Robert Kittle, communications director for the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, says even though the price gouging law is only in effect when a State of Emergency has been declared by either Governor Henry McMaster or President Donald Trump, it does not stop allegations from coming in especially when prices jump at the pump.
"We do get reports of alleged price gouging all the time, whether it’s gas going up 10-cents a gallon, the price of milk, or the local convenience store is charging too much for candy," Kittle said. "Those reports, however, are not documented unless the law is in effect."