$3-a-gallon gasoline looms for drivers

The national average for fuel prices is at its highest point since 2014 and is inching toward $3 per gallon as the cost of crude oil rises.

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded climbed more than 4 cents in the last week to $2.92, while the Houston-area average rose almost 6 cents to $2.68, according to GasBuddy, a website that tracks gasoline prices across the country. In some parts of Houston, particularly affluent areas such as River Oaks and the Galleria, several gas stations are already charging more than $3 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Gas prices are almost certain to keep rising as U.S. sanctions on Iran exports, declining production in crisis-ridden Venezu-

ela and tensions in the Middle East push oil prices higher. Crude gained nearly $1 a barrel in New York trading Monday, settling at $72.24 a barrel.

The rising prices come as the summer driving gets underway this weekend with the Memorial Day holiday. GasBuddy said more Americans are reconsidering summer road trips as a result of higher gasoline costs.

Only 58 percent of the survey respondents said they expect to take a road trip this summer, down 24 percent from last year, according to GasBuddy’s annual summer travel survey. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed said gas prices were affecting their summer travel decisions, compared to 20 percent last year.

“With such a big jump in prices, motorists are absolutely becoming more price-conscious as they make plans this summer,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

Average fuel prices bottomed out in February 2016 at about $1.70 a gallon nationwide and less than $1.50 per gallon in the Houston area. They’ve steadily risen ever since. Still, gasoline prices are lower than the stretch from 2011 through most of 2014, when costs ran well above $3 per gallon.