West Central Kentucky Gas Prices Continue to Climb

West Central Kentucky gas prices continued to climb this week. Today's average, $3.504 per gallon, is two cents higher than last Tuesday.

Since mid-January the national price at the pump has been propelled higher by somewhat more expensive crude oil, but more notably by regional refinery issues and the approaching switchover to summer-blend gasoline. Unlike recent years (Libya in 2011 and Iran in 2012), escalating geopolitical tensions overseas have not been a major contributing factor to the early-year price increase. Without a similar â€œrisk premiumâ€??? built into futures prices or new market-moving news, AAA expects that the increases to the national average will slow as temporary production concerns are addressed. Based on this expectation, the national average is likely to peak this spring at a lower price than in 2011 ($3.98 on May 5) and 2012 ($3.94 on April 5 and 6).

Today's national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.60. Prices in every state have increased over the last week. There were some reports of long lines at the pump as drivers filled up their cars in advance of Nor'easter that blanketed much of the Northeast with snow over the weekend; however the ultimate short-term impact on regional retail prices was minimal as expected. The ultimate impact of the storm is likely to be one of demand destruction, as the snow continues to keep drivers off of the road in the densely populated Northeast. Traders are likely to keep a close eye on demand numbers when they are reported in the coming weeks.

After declining slightly to end last week, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices again moved up Monday settling $1.31 higher at $97.03 per barrel at the close of formal trading on the NYMEX.

This week's average prices: Kentucky Average	$ 3.504
Average price during the week of February 5, 2013	$ 3.481
Average price during the week of February 14, 2012	$ N/A
Today's National Average Price	$ 3.604

The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$3.495	Bowling Green
$3.443	Elizabethtown
$3.671	Louisville
$3.423	Owensboro
$3.486	Paducah

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.