PROVIDENCE – Gasoline prices increased for the first time in six weeks as the cost of a gallon of unleaded regular rose by a penny in Rhode Island, AAA Southern New England reported today.
The auto club’s Aug. 3 survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular at Ocean State stations was $2.59 per gallon. That was up 1 cent from the average last week and followed a 15 cent decline over the previous five weeks. The price has increased 93 cents since the start of the year.
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The survey results come as crude oil prices remain in flux on world markets. Crude traded above $71 a barrel for the first time in a month today amid growing optimism about the global economy’s prospects and despite continued weak demand, Bloomberg News reported.
“Investors are more interested in the macroeconomic picture than supply and demand right now,” Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest, a Chicago-based brokerage, told Bloomberg. “The rise in prices is counterintuitive because of the poor supply and demand picture.”
Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor nicknamed “Dr. Doom” for his prescient predictions about the financial crisis, said today he expects a rebound in commodity prices next year as economic conditions improve. Roubini told Bloomberg he expects oil prices to average $70 to $75 a barrel in 2010.
In its survey, AAA found prices in Rhode Island ranging from $2.53 to $2.67 per gallon for unleaded regular. At $2.59, the average price per gallon in Rhode Island is 5 cents higher than the average price nationwide of $2.54.
A year ago, gas prices in Rhode Island had declined from recent record highs but still stood at $3.86 per gallon, according to AAA.
In Massachusetts, the survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular was $2.51 per gallon, up 2 cents from last week but 8 cents below the price in Rhode Island.
At stations in Rhode Island this week, the survey found average self-serve prices of $2.72 per gallon for midgrade unleaded, $2.84 for premium unleaded gasoline, and $2.68 for diesel.
For more information, visit AAA.com.
