Average Capital Region gas prices rise more than 10 cents

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. — Average gasoline prices in the area have risen 10.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.51 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 546 stations.

Prices in Albany are 10.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 2.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.6 cents in the last week and stands at $4.60 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $3.11 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $4.15 per gallon, a difference of $1.04 per gallon. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.94 per gallon while the highest was $4.19 per gallon, a difference of $1.25 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 11.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.39 per gallon today. The national average is up 30.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 7.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.

“Gasoline prices continued their upward trajectory last week as oil prices pulled them higher across the majority of the country, and continued refinery challenges kept supply of gasoline from rising more substantially,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Macroeconomic factors have continued to weigh on oil and refined products, as strong demand in China hasn’t been slowed much by a surge in new Covid cases.

“In addition, releases of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have wrapped up. Concerns are increasing that without additional oil, supply will tighten in the weeks ahead, especially as the nation starts to move away from softer demand in the height of winter.

“Moving forward, it doesn’t look good for motorists, with prices likely to continue accelerating.”