Three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is back in Colorado.
The average price for self-service regular hit $3.01 a gallon Friday in Vail, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
While prices have been rising steadily across Colorado since February, the new high in Vail marks the first time that gasoline has topped $3 since last year’s record highs in the 10 cities tracked by AAA.
Gasoline prices often rise in late spring as peak summer driving season approaches. But analysts said prices started rising earlier this year because of unplanned refinery shutdowns and rising crude oil prices prompted by unrest in the Mideast.
Colorado’s average price hit a two-year low of $2.09 in late January. Since then, it has risen 70 cents a gallon to Friday’s peak of $2.79. The all-time high for Colorado was $3.08 last August.
“If there is a silver lining,” said AAA spokesman Eric Escudero, “it’s that (last week) was the 23rd consecutive week that Colorado’s average price for regular has been lower than the national average.”
The national average for regular grade Friday was $2.82, up 10 cents from last year at this time.
The Energy Department said last week that the recent sharp rise in gasoline costs is likely to slow in the coming weeks, with prices averaging $2.81 a gallon over the vacation driving season, about 3 cents lower than last spring and summer.
“It’s encouraging that the Department of Energy has forecast prices below $3, but motorists should not necessarily count on that forecast because gas prices are notoriously volatile,” Escudero said.
Wild cards, he said, include a geopolitical crisis in the Mideast or in other petroleum-producing areas, or possible hurricane damage this fall in the Gulf of Mexico that could disrupt crude oil production and transportation.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
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Filling up in Colorado
Gas prices have been rising since February in the 10 Colorado cities tracked by AAA. Friday’s average for self-service regular gas and diesel:
Gas Diesel
Boulder-Longmont $2.74 $3.02
Colorado Springs $2.75 $3.05
Denver $2.74 $3.03
Durango $2.89 $2.96
Fort Collins-Loveland $2.77 $3.08
Glenwood Springs $2.96 $3.24
Grand Junction $2.78 $3.09
Greeley $2.77 $3.05
Pueblo $2.80 $3.10
Vail $3.01 $3.30
