Gas prices begin to steady after last week’s Colonial Pipeline shutdown

Gas prices across the country are slowly beginning to steady after a ransomware attack targeting Colonial Pipeline forced the closure of a major U.S. pipeline and caused the price of and demand for fuel to skyrocket.

According to The Associated Press, the average price of gas in New Jersey on Friday remained unchanged from the week prior. Friday’s gas prices averaged around $3.06, while last year, New Jersey drivers on average paid about $2.01 per gallon. Nationally, the price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Friday was $3.04, up one cent from last week.

Last year around the same time, drivers were paying around $1.92 per gallon, the outlet noted.

A cyberattack on Colonial earlier this month forced the company to shut down a major fuel pipeline, resulting in gas shortages and heightened prices across the country.

The company noted last week that it had returned to “normal operations,” delivering millions of gallons of fuel per hour to the markets it serves, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., which were widely affected by the disruption in service.

Analysts have predicted that gas prices will continue to steady throughout the weekend as the gasoline distribution system continues to resume usual services following the pipeline shutdown, according to the AP. However, prices could fluctuate as Americans travel for Memorial Day weekend.