Summer gas prices here to stay

The price that Utahns pay at the gas pump went up just before the Memorial Day weekend and have stayed right there. Last week’s $2.54 per gallon statewide average was the same as the holiday prices — and were up about a dime over the week before Memorial Day. Holiday weekend travel was the businest in years, according to AAA.

As the busy summer travel season begins, gas costs along the Wasatch Front hovered around an average price of $2.50 per gallon — $2.50 in Salt Lake City and $2.49 in Provo — up from $2.41 the same week last year.

The national average price for gasoline was $2.34, 4 cents lower than a year ago due to a lower price for crude oil, which remains below $50 per barrel. American drivers used a record 413 million gallons per day of gas during the week leading up to Memorial Day.  

“Demand is increasing in the region ahead of the summer travel season, but refinery production is still high,” said AAA Utah spokesman Mike Blasky. “If refiners continue to produce record amounts of gasoline and oversupply the market, consumers will reap the benefit.”