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Remember $2 a gallon gasoline? It just passed $3, and is expected to stay there through summer.

(Lee Davidson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gas prices posted in West Valley City on May 1, 2019. Average gas prices in Utah have risen above $3 a gallon, a 50% increase since mid-February.

Average gasoline prices in Utah just passed $3 a gallon — about a 50% increase since late February when they averaged about $2 a gallon.

“We could likely be seeing $3-a-gallon gasoline or more in Utah for most of the summer,” said AAA spokesman Michael Blasky.

On Wednesday, the average price for regular gasoline in Utah hit $3.04 a gallon, up by a nickel from $2.99 on Tuesday, according to the AAA Fuel Gage Report.

That was 16 cents higher than the national average of $2.88 a gallon.

A week ago, Utah’s average was $2.90 a gallon. A month ago it was $2.40.

And GasBuddy.com data shows that Utah prices averaged just $2.03 in late February.

So why are prices here skyrocketing?

“This is the season when refineries switch to their summer blend of gasoline,” Blasky said.

“Typically, that fuel is about five to 15 cents more expensive to refine per gallon, depending on the region,” he added. “So, basically, you see almost an automatic 15-cent jump in April when that switchover happens.”

When refineries switch to summer blends, some use that to shut down for a time for maintenance.

Because of that, “I've seen the overall U.S. refining capacity is down from about 90 percent capacity to the low 80s now,” Blasky said. “You’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of barrels a day. If you take that out of the supply, that has an effect on the marketplace.”

That decrease in the supply comes at a time when demand is rising because people drive more as the weather improves with spring. That contributes to higher prices.

“Pricing is a direct response to supply and demand,” said Rikki Hrenko-Browning, president of the Utah Petroleum Association. “It’s pretty typical that as the weather warms and consumers drive more, prices rise. Lower prices occur in winter when the demand weakens a bit.”

She said the biggest factor for rising costs at the pump are international oil prices — which have been rising.

“A lot of that, I think, has to do with speculation,” Blasky said. “What’s going on in Iran is a big part of it. Speculators are hoping that the if Iran’s output is restricted, the overall price of oil may go up further.”

He said unrest in Venezuela similarly may be a factor, although that country’s problems have reduced its once-heavy oil production for some time.

All of that is coming when peak demand is yet to come.

“We typically see the biggest demand for gasoline in the 100-day period between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Blasky said. “That’s typically when people are planning their summer vacations.”

With that, Blasky says Utah gasoline prices likely will remain above $3 a gallon through the summer. “A lot depends on where the price of oil ends up, and where demand does.”

Hrenko-Browning noted that gasoline right now is still a bit lower than it was at the same time last year. “So I don’t think there is an unusual price increase.”

GasBuddy.com data shows that last year in Utah, gas prices were above $3 a gallon between late April and mid-October, and peaked at $3.18. AAA reports that the record high average price for regular gasoline in Utah was $4.22 a gallon in July 2008.

While gasoline averages over $3 a gallon in Utah now, prices still vary widely in the state. GasBuddy.com reported on Wednesday that some gas is as cheap as $2.76 a gallon — at a station in Salina. A Costco in Salt Lake City was charging $2.79.

AAA reported average gas prices in several Utah cities: $3.02 in Provo-Orem; $3.03 a gallon in Salt Lake City and Ogden; $3.04 in Logan; and $3.10 in St. George.