PORTLAND, Maine — The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Maine rose again during the past week, bumping up 6.3 cents statewide to $2.26.
Maine had hit a six-year low for average gas prices in late January, with many stations selling regular gas for less than $2 per gallon. However, changes in the global energy market and at domestic refineries have dragged the average at-the-pump price upward in recent weeks.
The increase in the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Maine was slightly less during the past week than the national hike of 7.6 cents per gallon, which elevates the U.S. average price for regular gas to $2.25 per gallon, according to the gas price tracking website GasBuddy.com.
Prices in Maine were still about $1.23 lower than one year ago but back on the rise as the price of crude oil has turned around after the cost of a barrel of crude oil dropped by more than half by the end of 2014.
The increased price for crude oil has also led to a rise in No. 2 heating oil, which cost an average of $2.60 per gallon in the latest survey from the Governor’s Energy Office. That’s up about four cents from two weeks earlier.
Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy, said in a news release that about 90 percent of stations in the country are selling gas at more than $2 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy, one station in Maine was still below the $2 mark Monday, the Brooklin General Store in Brooklin.
About half of the stations in the country had dipped below the $2 per gallon mark when crude oil prices hit bottom.
The rise in global crude oil prices contributes to the higher pump price as well as refinery production shifting to lower-emitting and more expensive summer blend gasoline. DeHaan said those prices are already starting to rise in Los Angeles, giving a preview of what is likely in other parts of the country in the coming months.
But DeHaan said drivers should keep the coming price increases in perspective.
“I’m also starting to hear more frustration from motorists about rising prices — and while the concerns are well rooted, (drivers) should take solace that gas prices this summer are still expected to be some $1 per gallon lower than last summer,” DeHaan said.