Gas prices rise above $3 in Ulster

Average gasoline prices rose past $3 a gallon in Ulster County but remained steady at about the same price in the rest of the MidHudson Valley over the past week, according to GasBuddy.com.

Local averages Monday morning, according to GasBuddy, were $3.07 per gallon in Ulster County, up 9 cents from a week earlier; $3.09 in Dutchess County, unchanged; $3.11 in Greene County, unchanged; and $3.02 in Columbia County, also unchanged.

The New York state average Tuesday was $3.12 per gallon, up 3.2 cents from a week earlier, while the national average was $3.05, down 2.1 cents, GasBuddy reported.

“The ferocious rise in gas prices has finally started to cool as gas prices have eased across a majority of the country for the first time in months,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“There have been some challenges in pockets across the country as demand remains very healthy, and stations in some areas where demand is very high struggle to keep up with demand

thanks to the truck driver shortage,” De Haan said.

“As we head toward the July 4 holiday, I’m optimistic that we’ll continue to see prices slowly drift lower before possibly rising in later July or August should we see any disruptions from hurricane season,” De Haan said. “But for now it seems most Americans are simply happy to be getting outside and back to some sense of normal.”

New York state’s average gasoline price Monday was 8 cents higher than a month earlier and 89.2 cents higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy. The national average was 2 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 93.5 cents higher than a year ago.

Over the past five years, average gasoline prices June 21 in New York state have been: $2.12 per gallon in 2020; $2.65 in 2019, $3.02 in 2018, $2.45 in 2017 and $2.43 in 2016.