Average retail gasoline prices in Minnesota have risen 6.9 cents in the past week, averaging $3.53 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 2,856 gas outlets in Minnesota. This compares with the national average that has increased 3.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.47 per gallon, according to gasoline price website MinnesotaGasPrices.com.
Regular gasoline prices in International Falls, according to the site, ranged from $3.45 to $3.64. Local prices for premium fuel were listed at $3.99 per gallon and diesel fuel ranged from $4.29 to $4.59. Prices for midgrade fuel were not listed on the site.
Including the change in gas prices in Minnesota during the past week, prices Sunday were 7.4 cents per gallon lower compared to the same day one year ago and are 26.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 18.5 cents during the last month and stands 19.1 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
"Unsurprisingly, the surge in the national average has continued over the last week," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "As refinery maintenance season is now in its prime, and will be for several weeks, motorists could see additional volatility at the pump should issues or unexpected problems arise with this period of maintenance. There tend to be glitches and issues restarting these plants, and the progressive switchover to various blends of gasoline complicates matters further. Then, as refineries get back online, the volatility will ebb, and prices will slow their climb- but all of that light at the end of the tunnel remains several weeks away," DeHaan said.
GasBuddy operates MinnesotaGasPrices.com and over 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at more than 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.
