State, national gas averages experience upward trend

Missouri's gas average rose 3.6 cents during the past week to $3.24 per gallon yesterday, according to GasBuddy.com's survey of 3,940 filling stations in the Show-Me State.

Missouri's Sept. 7 average represented a 3.9-cent drop from a month ago and 23.7-cent decrease from the same day a year ago. The U.S. average, which increased 1.3 cents during the past week to $3.44 per gallon yesterday, has decreased 2.2 cents during the past month and 13.7 cents during the past year, according to a GasBuddy news release.

"We're past the seventh inning stretch for what will be a short-lived upward trend, and motorists will be seeing lower prices by late September in most areas across the country," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst, in the release.

Missouri ranked No. 9 this morning on GasBuddy's list of the lowest gas averages in the nation. At the top of the list was South Carolina with an average of $3.14 per gallon, while Hawaii bottomed out the list with its average of $4.27 per gallon.

This morning, Missourians could purchase gas at a low price of $3.05 per gallon at two stations in Pleasant Hope. The Sam's Club locations in Springfield, 3660 E. Sunshine St. and 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive, tied for second in the state with gas selling at $3.06 per gallon. The most expensive price in Missouri was $3.55 per gallon, selling at a station in the Bootheel city of Portageville, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

Elsewhere in Springfield, prices ranged from $3.08 per gallon to $3.13 per gallon.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $93.29 per barrel as of 9:30 a.m., compared to $95.96 per barrel a week ago. Light sweet crude oil futures for October were trading at $92.16 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.