Seasonal “theatrics” blamed for rising gas prices

Idaho’s average retail gas prices edged up another 3.2 cents per gallon in the past week. A survey of over 800 gas stations indicate an average price of $2.44 per gallon Sunday. That is up by 2.4 cents per gallon in the past week, according to the website GasBuddy.com. Prices were 61.1 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and 9.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. National prices increased 5 cents per gallon during the last month and are 49.5 cents per gallon higher than one year ago. “Gasoline prices are starting to pick up steam as a majority of states see their average rise over last week, a function of the season’s theatrics coming into view: refinery maintenance and the transition to cleaner gasoline pumping up prices,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com.