Motorists are paying the most for gasoline since October 2008. Retail prices rose Thursday on an expected increase in demand and as more expensive spring and summer blends make their way to the pumps.
The nationwide average hit $2.80 per gallon, a penny higher than Wednesday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. In the Triangle, the average was just a tad lower Thursday at $2.76 per gallon for unleaded.
Nationally, prices have now jumped 18.9 cents in the past month and are 87.9 cents higher than a year ago. On Oct. 23, 2008, prices averaged $2.8215 per gallon. The Energy Department and many industry experts expect prices to top $3 this spring.
Gasoline prices tend to move higher in the spring as more drivers hit the road and refiners shut down units for maintenance, as they prepare to make more expensive summer blends with fewer smog-causing emissions.
Wholesale gasoline prices, too, are at their highest since October 2008.
Americans now spend about a $1 billion a day to keep their cars and trucks filled - an increase of nearly $300 million from a year ago. With the average driver using about 50 gallons a month of fuel, the bill runs $140 per month and is expected to rise over the next several weeks.
The hit from gas prices comes as oil prices backed off their two-month highs Thursday. Crude prices fell 73 cents to settle at $82.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil has traded at $70 to $85 for months as economic reports waver on the strength of the economic recovery in the United States, the biggest consumer of oil.
"The question is, fundamentally right now in the world, is $85 justified?" said Phil Flynn of PFGBest.
While oil and gasoline prices have been rising, natural gas prices have done the opposite. Prices fell nearly 4 percent Thursday after the Energy Information Administration said natural gas stockpiles shrank less than expected last week. Prices have dropped more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
Despite a bitterly cold winter in much of the country that has driven strong demand, abundant supplies have kept a lid on prices.
