Refinery issues pushed up gas prices in the Denver metro region this past week, bringing the average costs at the pump to $2.73 per gallon, fuel price website GasBuddy.com reported Monday.
Gas prices in Denver rose 6 cents, according to GasBuddy’s weekly survey. Nationally, prices slipped 0.9 cents on average to $2.76 per gallon.
Colorado’s average crept up 7.2 cents to $2.75 per gallon.
Refinery problems that cropped up in Texas and the Midwest have pushed prices higher in the mid-continent region, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for .
“I think once we can get some of these refinery kinks behind us, that will put some downward pressure on prices,” he said, adding that he expects these issues to be corrected soon.
Prices in Denver and Colorado may start to ease in the coming weeks, with the more significant drops expected to occur after mid-September, he said.
“We’ll see maybe a little bit of relief between now and Labor Day,” he said.
With oil prices nearing $50 a barrel, some states could see prices below $2 per gallon come mid-fall, he said.
Average fuel prices in Denver are 84.8 cents per gallon lower than they were this time last year. Average prices have climbed more than 10 cents per gallon in the past month.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aliciawallace
