DOVER—After state gas prices held fairly steady over the past month, motorists saw a 2.3-cent rise over the past week, according to NewHampshireGasPrices.org.
That increase brings the average amount motorists pay at Granite State stations, as of Monday, to $2.63 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, which is 79.5 cents higher than the same day last year. Nationally prices are on the rise as well, as the United States as a whole has seen a 3.6-cent increase per gallon, according to NewHampshireGasPrices.org.
As of Monday, the lowest gas prices in the area, according to automotive.com, were: $2.56 at the Shell station on the Route 1 Bypass in Portsmouth, and $2.57 at the High Street Circle K and the High Street Cumberland Farms in Somersworth.
Pat Moody, the American Automobile Association's public relations director for northern New England, said New Hampshire had the cheapest gasoline prices in New England. The closest state to New Hampshire with a lower average is New Jersey, where motorists are filling their tanks at $2.56 cents a gallon, said Moody.
The average cost per gallon of gas in Maine, as of Monday, was $2.72, according to MaineGasPrices.com
Moody said the nationwide price increase is due largely to the economy and its effect on oil prices.
"Oil's pretty much the driving factor, as gas is derived from crude oil," said Moody. "Oil is being driven higher due in part by the broader economic issues ... we've been dealing with the last two to three years."
This year's predicted average price for gasoline at retail locations is $2.84 per gallon, as estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which is 49 cents higher than 2009's yearly average of $2.35 per gallon. Moody said there is a possibility the cost of gas could surpass $3 per gallon this year, but any estimates or gas price trends are "impossible" to predict even a week or two out because the actual prices often fluctuate due to multiple factors.
Moody said the yearly prediction is based on a slightly-recovering economy and the fact gas prices generally increase as temperatures begin to rise. This increase in demand during warmer months could drive the cost of gas prices, but he said he doesn't expect a sharp increase in the price of gasoline because there is a currently a surplus of crude oil.
"We've got ample supply right now, and it's available," he said.
One trend Moody has noticed, though, is a difference between prices in the Seacoast and the Greater Manchester areas. The Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester area is averaging $2.65 per gallon of gas as of Monday, while the average cost in the Greater Manchester area is $2.59, according to fuelgaugereport.com.
Moody said both averages are higher than last week, and probably have to do with the supply chain and total number of retail stores for the respective areas. He said even this number is subject to fluctuations because the data comes daily from surveying up to 100,000 retail stations.
The price of a barrel of crude oil fell from six-week highs on Tuesday, said Moody, due to renewed dollar strength and mixed economic news. The price of a barrel of oil closed Tuesday at $78.69 on the New York Mercantile Stock Exchange, he said, down 97 cents from the previous trading day.
At midday Singapore time on the exchange Wednesday, benchmark crude was up 3 cents to $78.71.
The United States' crude inventories grew more than expected last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Crude stocks jumped 2.7 million barrels, while analysts had expected a rise of 1.1 million, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
