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Three Gas Price Records in Three Days

$4 prices predicted for some states this summer

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 13, 2008

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The nasty run-up in gasoline prices is picking up speed with the average cost of a gallon of regular self serve jumping 2.1 cents overnight to reach $3.267 a gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Gasoline prices have now set three new records in the last three days.

Mid-grade gasoline rose 2 cents a gallon to $3.47 and premium is up 2.2 cents to $3.59 a gallon.

Diesel fuel rose 3 cents a gallon to $3.91 and that is a record price.

Regular gasoline sold for $2.96 at this time last month and $2.55 a year ago.

Gasoline could hit a national monthly average of $3.50 a gallon this spring, according to U.S. government energy analysts. The government warns that in some parts of the country gasoline could reach $4 per gallon this year.

California is suffering from the highest average gasoline prices in the U.S. at $3.61 a gallon, a 1.5 cent rise overnight.

A gallon of regular self-serve sells for $3.74 in San Francisco, $3.63 in Oakland, $3.58 in Sacramento, $3.62 in San Diego and $3.59 a gallon in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Spring, spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California, said the price spike is based purely on speculative investments.

“All the fundamentals are pointing to lower prices,” Spring said, noting that demand has been decreasing in California and nationwide while gasoline supply is at seven-year highs.

New Jersey remains the state with the lowest average gasoline prices. A gallon of regular goes for $3.03 in the Garden State.

The cheapest gallon of regular self serve is on sale in Danville, Virginia at $2.88 a gallon. Kirkwood, California stations are commanding $4.59 a gallon for regular, the most expensive in the country.

Here is a look as some gasoline prices from around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

New York: For the second straight day, the price of a gallon of gasoline set a record on Long Island, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Yesterday: $3.352 per gallon of unleaded regular. Today: $3.360.

The cost of premium is up from $3.662 per gallon to $3.671. So is the cost of diesel, which rose from $4.137 to $4.189.

A year ago, regular cost $2.734 on Long Island, while premium was $2.987. Diesel was $2.198.

The statewide average in New York is now $3.37 a gallon for regular self serve.

West Virginia: Gasoline prices across the state are as high as they've ever been.

Just four states - California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington - now have higher gas-price averages than West Virginia. So if prices do hit the $4 a gallon mark, West Virginia prices aren't likely to be far behind.

According to AAA, the average price for unleaded gas in West Virginia reached $3.39 per gallon. In Charleston the average was $3.43. Prices have never been higher.

Colorado: The price of a gallon of gasoline in Colorado increased for the fourth consecutive week, according to AAA.

Despite the trend, gas in Colorado is cheap compared to what a gallon of regular unleaded is going for in other states. Colorado and South Carolina are tied for the fifth cheapest, at an average price of $3.13 per gallon.

Colorado's average price for regular unleaded is up a nickle more than a week ago, 21 cents higher than last month, and for the past four weeks has climbed above $3.

One year ago, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.49 in Colorado.

Gas was cheapest in Denver and Colorado Springs, at $3.07, while it was most expensive in Vail, at $3.45.

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