Gasoline prices, which have been gradually inching back upward despite the recession, are expected to continue easing upward if people take to the roads for summer vacations. According to GasBuddy.com, regular gas is averaging $1.92 a gallon in the Baton Rouge area, compared with $1.81 a gallon a month ago. At this time last year, the gas was $3.03 a gallon in the Capital Region. East Baton Rouge Parish prices range from $1.79 at a RaceTrac station at Greenwell Springs and Joor roads to $2.05 at a Chevron station at Jefferson Highway and Brandon Drive.
Rising prices are partly because of slight oil price increases and with gas stations converting from “winter gas” to “summer gas,” which includes more additives to control emissions, says Larry Wall of Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. While gas prices exceeded $4 a gallon last year from record-setting oil prices and then plummeted to under $2 a gallon because of the recession, Wall cautiously expects steady increases this year if oil prices continue creeping upward, summer demand rises and new national energy policies affect the market. “It’s a wait-and-see situation,” Wall says of this year’s market uncertainties. “It’s very unsure right now.”—Anna Thibodeaux
