Gasoline prices continue to rise

Average retail gasoline prices in the San Diego region have risen 13.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.94 per gallon on Saturday, according to the gasoline price website SanDiegoGasPrices.com. This compares with the national average that has increased 5.9 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.67 a gallon.

Including the change in gas prices during the past week, prices on Saturday were 95 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 16.7 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 0.7 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 98.2 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

“Gasoline prices continue to slowly advance, but with major storms impeding the activity of refineries, it shouldn’t come as a shock,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst. “I believe that we may see additional impacts with Tropical Storm Lee as many oil platforms have already ceased production, and there may be refineries that shut due to intense rain. The good news is that I do expect gasoline prices to begin falling closer to the end of September as we switch back to cheaper winter gasoline and the peak of hurricane season passes.”