Diesel, gasoline prices are lowest in North Carolina
(The Center Square) – Lowest average prices for a gallon of diesel fuel or regular unleaded gasoline are 19 and 16 cents better, respectively, in North Carolina than any other state in the nation, according to an update Monday from AAA. Motorists from Murphy to Manteo are benefitting from the Republican-majority General Assembly chambers suspending the 41 cents per gallon fuel tax on each through the end of November. The seven-week pause carries an estimated cost of $362.3 million, according to Rockingham County 13th term Sen. Phil Berger Jr. The loss of revenue for money used to help maintain highways through the state Department of Transportation’s Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund is being subsidized by the state’s Stabilization and Inflation Reserve account. Berger said the account to draw from has a balance of about $518 million available. First-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner, in published reports, said $11 billion in reserves means the amount would not negatively impact the state’s top-level credit rating. If not extended, the fuel taxes return Dec. 1. North Carolina’s average on Monday, according to AAA, for a gallon of diesel is $5.49 and a for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.38.
