State gas prices land 7 cents below national average

Missouri's average retail gasoline price rose 6.4 cents during the week of March 12-18 to $3.73 per gallon, and further increases are expected. The price point was just seven cents below the national average, which increased 4.3 cents during the week.

The state average yesterday was 36.2 cents higher than a month ago and 34.7 cents higher than a year ago. The national average increased 28.6 cents during the last month and 27.9 cents during the last year, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

This morning, Missouri's gas average rose another cent, ranking the state No. 21 on GasBuddy.com's list of the lowest gas averages by state. Wyoming held the top spot with an average of $3.41 per gallon.

"Average retail gasoline prices will likely rise this week, after a surge in wholesale prices late last week," GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the release. "Some analysts believe gasoline prices may have peaked, but I am not at all confident in such words.

"I still maintain that prices will likely not peak until we get closer to the month of May, as a majority of locales around the United States make eventual switch-overs to summer (speculative) gasoline."

As of 9:43 a.m., the lowest price of gas in Missouri, $3.49 per gallon, could be found at seven fueling stations in Jackson and Osage Beach. The most expensive gas was selling for $3.99 per gallon in St. Louis.

In Springfield, the least expensive gas was available for $3.53 per gallon at Sam's Club, 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive, and two stations, Murphy USA at 3516 W. Sunshine St. and Phillips 66 at 3109 W. Sunshine St., priced gas at $3.55 per gallon, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

Chicago-based Gas Buddy Organization Inc. operates a system of more than 250 price-tracking Web sites under GasBuddy.com.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $107.48 per barrel as of 9:49 a.m., up from $105.70 a week ago. Light sweet crude oil futures for April were trading at $107.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to the CME Group.
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