PORTLAND, Maine — Gas prices in Maine were flat for the week, at $2.37 per gallon, as the national average of gasoline prices rose about 4 cents to $2.36.
The price-tracking site GasBuddy said the national average increased as a result of an unplanned outage at Detroit’s Marathon refinery and wholesale price spikes in Chicago and along the Gulf Coast.
The site and the U.S. Energy Information Administration have projected drivers would have the lowest gasoline prices in 12 years this summer, boosting tourism by car.
Traffic to national parks, including Acadia National Park specifically, has been up in the past two years, which National Park Service officials attributed to lower gas prices. State officials expect more tourism in general, as a result of those low prices.
Maine’s average price as of Sunday was about 37 cents lower than a year ago. It was higher than Vermont’s average, at $2.34, and New Hampshire’s, at $2.29.