Prices at gas pump are on the rise again

April showers bring May flowers — and sky-high gasoline prices.

In the past 30 days, Utah gasoline prices have shot up 40 cents to an average of $2.70 per gallon on Tuesday. Prices in the state have been on the rise every day since Feb. 27, according to data from the Oil Price Information Service.

"It's a little outrageous," said Francine Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce. "I shudder to think about where we are going to be on Memorial Day."

But a report issued Tuesday by the federal government indicates motorists may get a break after prices peak in May.

Retail regular grade gasoline prices are projected to average $2.81 per gallon this summer, 3 cents below the average of $2.84 per gallon last summer, according to the Energy Information Administration. Diesel fuel prices are expected to average $2.82 per gallon over the summer, down 6 cents from last summer's average price of $2.88 per gallon.

The report noted that national gasoline prices will hit a peak of an average of $2.87 per gallon in May, as the start of the summer driving season gets under way.

"The $2.87 sounds a little bit low," James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla., told Bloomberg News Tuesday. "We think that prices could hit $3 quite easily."

Nationally, the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline on Tuesday was $2.79, up 25 cents from a month ago.

Yet if last summer is any indication of what could happen again, Utah motorists should brace themselves for higher prices.

Last summer, U.S. gasoline prices topped $3 a gallon, the second consecutive year prices have gone above that mark. In August, Utah prices reached an all-time average high of $2.99 per gallon.

However, while prices quickly started to drop dramatically around the nation, they continued to rise in Utah. From mid-August through early December, the state's gasoline prices exceeded the national average, on some days by more than 40 cents a gallon.

Last year's high prices sparked a state investigation by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who tapped Giani to lead an inquiry. The investigation concluded that gasoline retailers were gouging consumers — but they were not breaking any state laws.

"I still continue to be surprised at why we go up so quick," Giani said. "We were told that our refineries buy domestic crude, which is considerably cheaper than imported crude."

Lee Peacock, president of the Utah Petroleum Association, which represents Utah's five refineries, said it is impossible to predict what gasoline prices will do in the future.

"Too much depends on how the factors that influence prices react to local, national and international events," Peacock said. "What is certain is that the well-worn laws of supply and demand will dictate where prices go."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com