MO gas average rises in last week of 2012

Missouri's average retail gasoline price rose 7.3 cents during the last week of 2012 to $3.04 per gallon Dec. 30.

The state's Dec. 30 average was 11.9 cents lower than the same day a month ago and 1 cent higher than a year before. The U.S. average, which dropped 3 cents during the week, decreased 13.2 cents month-to-month but increased 1.7 cents year-to-year, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

The 2012 U.S. average of $3.60 per gallon represented the highest price recorded for American customers.

"2012 was a year that focused the spotlight on our nation's oil refineries. It showed us the vulnerability of our infrastructure and what can happen to prices at the pump when infrastructure is compromised," GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the release. "We began the year with a BP refinery fire in Cherry Point, Wash., that caused massive spikes on the West Coast. The spring delivered challenges for Great Lakes refineries and pushed Chicago gas prices to a record high. Similarly, the California summer saw major refinery outages there and new record high prices."

GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskoski added that Hurricane Sandy caused refinery shutdowns, flooding and power outages on the East Coast. "The resulting fuel shortage triggered mile-long lines for gas. N.Y. gasoline spiked to a price level exceeding Honolulu and Anchorage as the highest in the U.S.," he said in the release.

This morning, Missouri's gas average held at $3.04 per gallon, tying the state for eighth - along with Minnesota - on GasBuddy.com's list of the lowest gas averages by state. At $2.92 per gallon, Wyoming had the lowest gas average in the country, while Hawaii posted the highest priced gas in the U.S. at $3.92 per gallon.

In Missouri, the lowest price for gas could be found this morning at a filling station in Poplar Bluff for $2.84 per gallon. At $3.59 per gallon, a station in Cape Girardeau had the most expensive gas in the state, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

Springfield consumers could purchase gas at a low point of $2.93 per gallon at Sam's Club, 3660 E. Sunshine St.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $91.65 per barrel as of 9:10 a.m. Light sweet crude oil futures for February were trading at $93.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.