Gas prices continue to climb in Capital Region
Average gasoline prices in Albany rose 1.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.51 a gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 546 stations in Albany.
Prices in Albany are 16.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 4.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 3.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.02 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $3.23 a gallon while the most expensive was $3.79 a gallon, a difference of 56 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.89 a gallon while the highest was $4.59 a gallon, a difference of $1.70 a gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 6.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.57 a gallon. The national average is up 17.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 0.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
“After a brief break, gas prices have leapt back up, driven by extensive refinery maintenance on the West Coast, where prices have increased notably; only a handful of states have seen prices decline over the last week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a press release.
“With oil prices rising to nearly $87 per barrel last week, their highest since October, we are not only facing the seasonal factors that push prices up — refinery maintenance, the switch to summer gasoline, and rising demand — but also escalating crude oil prices as OPEC’s production cuts continue to cause declining global oil inventories, with escalations between Iran and Israel adding to concerns of further destabilization.
“The West Coast is likely to see gas prices continue to jump, and in a week or so, will be joined by the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states as they wrap up the transition to summer gasoline.”