Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have risen for the first time in a month and a half, AAA Southern New England reported Monday as experts predicted gas prices could top $3 a gallon soon.
The auto club’s March 1 survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular at Ocean State stations was $2.71 per gallon, up 1 cent from last week. It was the first weekly increase since mid-January.
Experts say prices at the pump are likely to top $3 a gallon by the summer, according to The Associated Press – not because of gasoline consumption, which has been moderated by high unemployment and a sluggish recovery, but because of rising demand for crude oil abroad.
However, Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service, told the AP he does not expect prices to get anywhere near as high as they did in the summer of 2008, when gas hit $4.10 a gallon in Rhode Island.
“I’ll be surprised if it got over $3.25,” Rozell said.
Oil prices reached a six-week high on Monday in New York Mercantile Exchange trading, according to Bloomberg News. Crude rose as much as 96 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $80.62 a barrel – 80 percent higher than a year ago.
In its survey, AAA found prices in Rhode Island ranging from $2.59 to $2.84 per gallon for unleaded regular. At $2.71, the average price per gallon in Rhode Island is 1 cent higher than the average price nationwide of $2.70.
A year ago, gas prices in Rhode Island stood at $1.96 per gallon, 75 cents below the current price, after plunging from the record highs of the prior summer, according to AAA.
Prices also rose in Massachusetts for the first time since mid-January. The AAA survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular was $2.64 per gallon in the Bay State, up 2 cents from last week and 7 cents below Rhode Island’s average.
At stations in Rhode Island this week, the survey found average self-serve prices of $2.85 per gallon for midgrade unleaded, $2.95 for premium unleaded gasoline, and $2.93 for diesel.
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