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Maine's Average Gas Price Rises to $2.34 Per Gallon

Posted on: Sunday, 19 March 2006, 18:00 CST

By Jen Fish, Portland Press Herald, Maine

Mar. 17--An abrupt jump in gasoline prices greeted Maine motorists this week, driven by a combination low inventories and the onset of better driving weather.

"Prices are definitely moving," said Matthew McKenzie of AAA Northern New England, noting that the average wholesale price climbed from $1.37 to $1.90 over the past month.

Just this week, the average retail price for regular unleaded gas rose about 3 cents a day, hitting $2.34 per gallon Thursday.

According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, Maine is still about 5 cents below the national average for regular unleaded gas. Nationally, prices are the highest they've been since last November, when they soared to a high of about $3.21 in Maine, according to AAA.

McKenzie said motorists can expect prices to continue to rise for the next couple of weeks, and he expects that the summer season -- Memorial Day to Labor Day -- will see prices between $2.50 and $2.65.

It's too early to say what kind of effect gas prices could have on the summer tourism season, but state officials say that historically, people continue to travel and make vacation plans in the face of high gas prices.

"Even when we went to $2.60 a gallon last year, people were still traveling," said Steve Lyons, tourism development specialist for the Maine Office of Tourism. "In the long run, the difference it makes in filling up your tank isn't significant enough to make (someone) want to change their vacation plans."

In some cases, Lyons said, tourists will keep their travel plans, but will confine themselves to the town they are staying in rather than driving to other places.

On Thursday, drivers seemed to be resigned to the increase.

"I just try to keep my truck in good order and bite the bullet on the price," said Wayne Patterson as he filled up at the Mobil Station on Forest Avenue.

Patterson commutes from Hollis to Portland daily, a drive of about 23 miles each way. He said there is no one in his town he can commute with to cut down on gas costs.

Another driver, Margo Roy of Scarborough, said while she doesn't like paying a lot for gasoline, she is not over-worried about paying an extra 10 cents here or there.

"I don't think it makes that big of a difference," she said. "People make a big deal of it when the price goes down 2 or 3 cents, but it doesn't seem to make a big difference" in the cost of filling up.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Portland Press Herald, Maine

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Source: Portland Press Herald

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