Colorado drivers are getting walloped at the gas pump, with prices running hotter than much of the country. The sting at the station is not scaring people off the roads, though, as spring getaways and weekend trips keep highways humming from Denver to the high country.
According to AAA Colorado, the statewide average for regular unleaded hit $4.628 per gallon on May 14, about 9 cents higher than the national average of $4.534 reported the same day. Metro data show Denver and the mountain resort corridors doing plenty of work to pull that state average up.
Federal figures tell a similar story. The Energy Information Administration reported Colorado’s weekly retail average at $4.497 for the week ending May 4, while the national all grades average landed at $4.452. The agency posted its latest state numbers on May 12.
Why Colorado Is Paying More
Analysts point to a familiar villain: global supply shocks. Tanker traffic snarls in the Strait of Hormuz, along with broader disruptions tied to the U.S.–Iran conflict, have pushed crude and wholesale gasoline prices higher, which in turn lifts pump prices in inland markets like Colorado. Rising insurance and shipping premiums, paired with tighter refining margins, are adding even more upward pressure on what drivers pay. Al Jazeera has reported on the supply disruptions and the price volatility rippling through energy markets.
Policy Moves and Local Cost Drivers
Washington is trying to take a little steam out of the market. The EPA has issued a temporary summertime waiver that allows broader sales of E15, a gasoline blend with 15% ethanol, in a bid to boost available fuel supply, a move covered by AP News. That step could soften short-term price spikes, but it does not erase homegrown cost pressures…