PROVIDENCE – Gasoline prices in Rhode Island were unchanged Monday after falling for four consecutive weeks, AAA Southern New England reported.
The auto club’s Feb. 22 survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular at Ocean State stations was $2.70 per gallon, the same as last week.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
Oil prices rose 7.7 percent last week as demand rose in China, the Federal Reserve took its first steps to tighten monetary policy and speculators bet on higher prices, Bloomberg News reported.
Oil may “creep” toward $84 a barrel if economic data is positive but is unlikely to move beyond that threshold, Toby Hassall, research analyst with CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney, told Bloomberg.
“We’re just not seeing any significant improvement in Western oil demand,” Hassall said. “I don’t see crude oil sustaining any rallies at this point. Really we’re just retracing the sharp correction that we saw in January.”
Crude oil for delivery in March rose as much as 70 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $80.51 a barrel Monday in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to Bloomberg. Crude for April delivery also topped $80 a barrel.
Hedge-fund managers and other big-money investors have begun betting that oil prices will continue to rise, Bloomberg said, citing new figures from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In its survey, AAA found prices in Rhode Island ranging from $2.62 to $2.84 per gallon for unleaded regular. At $2.70, the average price per gallon in Rhode Island is 6 cents higher than the average price nationwide of $2.64.
A year ago, gas prices in Rhode Island stood at $1.98 per gallon, according to AAA.
Prices fell for the fifth week in a row in Massachusetts. The AAA survey found the average price of self-serve, unleaded regular was $2.62 per gallon in the Bay State, down 1 cent from last week and 8 cents below Rhode Island’s average.
At stations in Rhode Island this week, the survey found average self-serve prices of $2.84 per gallon for midgrade unleaded, $2.95 for premium unleaded gasoline, and $2.92 for diesel.
For more information, visit AAA.com.
