PROVIDENCE – Gasoline prices rose by one penny in Rhode Island and dropped by the same amount in Massachusetts compared with last week, AAA Southern New England said.
The auto club’s March 28 survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular at Ocean State stations was $3.56, two cents below the national average. One year ago, pump prices stood at $2.78.
In Massachusetts, gasoline prices dropped by one penny, AAA said, noting it was the first decrease in prices on its survey for the Bay State since Nov. 1.
According to Bloomberg News, oil fell for a third day on the New York Mercantile Exchange on speculation that territorial gains by Libyan rebels may quicken a resolution to the country’s civil war.
Futures declined as much as 1.7 percent after insurgents recaptured the Libyan oil port of Ras Lanuf on Sunday while allied warplanes began airstrikes on the capital, Tripoli. Qatar, an OPEC member like Libya, recognized the rebel council as the sole representative of the Libyan people, following a similar move by France earlier this month.
“Today’s action is driven by the talk that the Libyan rebels have secured eastern Libya,” said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. “One of the ways you can support eastern Libya would be to allow them to export oil.”
Crude for May delivery fell $1.64, or 1.6 percent, to $103.76 a barrel at 9:30 a.m. on the NYMEX. Oil’s three-day decline is the longest drop since a four-day retreat through March 11. Prices have gained 30 percent in the past year.
At stations in Rhode Island this week, the survey found average self-serve prices of $3.70 per gallon for midgrade unleaded, $3.81 for premium unleaded gasoline and $4.01 for diesel.
