Maryland Gas Prices Hit $4 a Gallon

Lower crude oil prices helped push the average price of a gallon of regular grade gasoline down slightly over the past week, while prices in Maryland pushed past the $4 mark, according to the latest AAA survey.

The national average price of regular grade gasoline was $3.96 a gallon on Sunday, 15 cents shy of the all-time record high of $4.11 a gallon set in July 2008. That price represents a 1 cent decrease from a week ago and $1.08 a gallon increase from a year ago.

In Maryland, tha average price for a gallon a regular gasoline was $4.01 on Sunday, up 3 cents from a week ago and $1.17 a gallon from a year ago.

Oil prices have been on a roller coaster this month, dropping a record $16 a barrel last week and trading with more than an $11 swing between highs and lows this week. This week’s volatility has been attributed to various factors—a see-sawing U.S. dollar, European debt issues and reports that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been wounded by NATO air strikes. 

According to AAA, analysts expect volatility in the oil market to continue into next week, driven primarily by the dollar, noting volatility could remain high until true fundamentals (supply and demand) return with the peak summer driving season. Crude oil finished the week at $99.65, up 2.5 percent. 

“Crude oil’s volatility continues to directly impact gas prices,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Ragina C. Averella. “Following last week’s record collapse in crude oil prices, gas prices almost immediately applied the brakes, dropping several cents early in the week and somewhat stabilizing by week’s end. For as quickly as gas prices go up, their retreat can be equally as slow, nonetheless any retreat is welcome news for motorists.”

According to AAA, some analysts believe we’ve seen the gas price peak for the summer driving season, just shy of the $4 mark, and that prices will settle between $3.25 and $3.75 during the summer months. 

For many frustrated motorists it will be a watch and wait.

Here are the cheapest gas prices in the Dundalk area, according toMarylandGasPrices.com: