PROVIDENCE – “Gasoline prices in Rhode Island are up again this week, and are now within 5 cents of the all-time high, while strong global demand has driven diesel fuel past the $4 per gallon mark,” AAA Southern New England said in its weekly fuel-price report.
AAA’s March 17 survey found self-serve unleaded regular averaging $3.189 per gallon at Rhode Island stations, an increase of 4 cents per gallon from last week and 20 cents from five weeks ago. A year ago, the average local price was $2.579.
Nationwide, the average price of self-serve regular rose 12 cents over the past week to $3.28 per gallon on March 17 – 10 cents more than in Rhode Island.
The range in prices for self-serve regular at local stations was 13 cents, from a low of $3.129 to a high of $3.259 per gallon. Wider ranges were seen for most other grades of fuel, which had average self-serve prices of $3.309 for mid-grade unleaded, $3.419 for premium and $4.159 for diesel.
Self-serve prices for diesel fuel at Ocean State stations have risen 22 cents over the past week and 65 cents over the past five weeks, AAA found.
AAA Southern New England is a nonprofit auto club providing travel, insurance, finance and auto-related services to more than 2 million local members with 34 offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. To find the most up-to-date self-service and full-service gas prices in a given area, go to www.AAA.com and click on Gas Saving Tips & Tools.
