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Gas prices expected to reach 3-year high this spring

Alex Crichton
/
WXXI News

Gas prices have dipped lately, but that trend is not expected to continue, according to AAA.

The auto club expects national prices as high as $2.70 a gallon this spring -- a price not paid since the summer of 2015 when prices hit $2.81 a gallon.

Spokesperson Elizabeth Carey says factors like high oil prices, an unusually high demand for gasoline, and a switch to the more expensive summer blend all add up to drivers paying much more at the pump this spring.

"Nationally they're saying prices could go up to $2.70 a gallon, but right now they're already that high in New York State. The New York State average right now is $2.72. So if the national average goes up to $2.70, we're going to be talking more like $3.00 a gallon in this area," she says.

But there are many ways to save fuel, including carpooling, combining errands and just slowing down.

"The faster you drive, the more gasoline you're going to use. Some of the studies out there say if you go five miles per hour over 50 miles per hour, you're going to be paying about $o.18 a gallon to do that," she says.

She reminds us that even $3.00 a gallon is far less than the average in July 2008, when the priced reached $4.25 a gallon.