The readerboard at the La Grande Mobil, 408 Adams Ave., shows the price of gasoline at $4.73 per gallon on Thursday, May 12, 2022.

PORTLAND — Gas prices across Oregon set new records Tuesday, May 10, following a surge in the price of oil.

After several weeks hovering near record highs set in March, the average price for a gallon of regular in Oregon jumped to $4.85, according to AAA, up 16 cents from the week prior.

Average prices in Union County are up to $4.70, up from $4.67 last week. Wallowa County saw an increase to $4.87, up 5 cents from a week ago.

Drivers in the Portland area were paying even more — $4.92 a gallon, up 15 cents from a week ago. The national average was $4.37, up 17 cents.

Price have spiked along with the cost of a barrel of crude oil, now $110. The price of crude accounts for more than half the cost of filling up a tank with gas or diesel, said AAA Oregon/Idaho spokesperson Marie Dodds. The other biggest factors are refining the oil into fuel, distribution, marketing and taxes.

“Unfortunately, these high pump prices are not likely to ease anytime soon,” she said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed oil prices higher. The United States and several other nation banned the import of Russian oil as punishment for the war, though Russian imports accounted for only a small fraction of the U.S. fuel supply.

New restrictions from the European Union, which is most dependent on Russia for oil and fuel, may ratchet up pressure on Moscow. But it will also squeeze the global oil supply, keeping prices at the pump high.

The United States is the world’s leading oil producer, but production plummeted early in the pandemic and has been slow to rebound. That’s in part, executives have said, because oil companies are reluctant to ramp up costly new operations to meet what could be a temporary surge in demand. In the meantime, the largest U.S. oil companies are enjoying record profits.

Rising fuel costs are hitting consumers directly in the pocketbook, but the sustained upward trend is pushing up other everyday costs, including the price of groceries and other goods. At a time when unemployment is low and wages are climbing, gas prices and other inflationary pressures are contributing to a sense of economic angst.

Oregon gas remains the fifth priciest among U.S. states behind California, Hawaii, Nevada and Washington. Oregon’s 16-cent jump in the price per gallon was the highest on the West Coast this week.

Prior to this year, Oregon gas prices had peaked in the summer of 2008 at $4.29 a gallon, which would be about $5.65 today after accounting for inflation. The previous nationwide high-water mark, also set in 2008, was $4.27, or $5.63 in today’s dollars.

The state’s most expensive gas is in Curry County ($5.07 a gallon), Harney County ($5.06) and Josephine County ($5.04).