Long Island gas prices inch up, but far below U.S average, AAA says

Gas prices on Long Island have inched up only slightly amid a steeper climb nationwide since the beginning of the Iran war, according the latest data from AAA.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Long Island — where gasoline has long been cheaper than the national average — was $2.90 on Tuesday, up roughly 3 cents from Monday, according to AAA’s online fuel price tracker. Across New York State, the average price per gallon was up roughly 4 cents to $3.04.

Gas prices nationally were up by about 11 cents per gallon Tuesday over Monday, to $3.11, as the price of crude oil sent retailers into speculative pricing mode, officials with AAA said.

Despite the smaller increase locally, some Long Island drivers sounded less than impressed.

"I just think that's ridiculous that gas prices are going up," said Jeanette Perez, 51, of North Babylon, as she filled up her tank at BJ's Wholesale Club in Farmingdale on Tuesday.

Perez said she was frustrated by having to pay more for gas but saw it as a larger pattern of increased consumer prices.

"Everything is going up, right?" she said.

The bump in gas prices sounded "horrible" to Heidi Francis, 52, a home health aide from Westbury. On Tuesday, she was waiting outside a Mobil gas station in Plainview where she stopped on her way home from work for an oil change.

"I drive for a living," said Francis, who crisscrosses the Island daily to work with hospice patients. "It takes a toll on my pocket."

Officials who track the price of fuel locally said the overnight increase is indicative of some retailers jumping the gun on prices in light of the war, which started on Saturday.

"I might call it a speculative increase in price because there have been no supply interruptions," said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast.

Sinclair, whose office is in Garden City, said the price of gas gradually rises during this time of year as refineries throughout the country make the change from winter fuels to more evaporation-resistant summer blends of gasoline.

But the sudden overnight price surge suggests retailers are paying attention to the price of crude oil and are adjusting their prices upward even if their current supplies were purchased at lower rates, he said.

The price of crude oil hit nearly $78 a barrel Tuesday morning before settling down to $75.31 in late day trading. For comparison, barrel prices sat around $65 last Friday.

Traditionally, it can take 20 to 30 days for oil price increases to translate to higher pump prices, with every $10 per barrel increase resulting in a roughly 25-cent per gallon increase, Sinclair Jr. said. 

"All of the gas that we’re bringing in right now is bought and paid for, but the price goes up overnight as a result of the idea that, ‘The next delivery will be more expensive, so we should jack up the prices now,’" Sinclair said of some gas retailers.

"Everyone selling gasoline is going to be angry with me, but that’s reality," he said.

As for Long Island, Sinclair said it wasn’t clear if speculation alone was cause for the increase, as the growth in price was much smaller than the nation’s spike.

Finance experts said while the stock market may more easily rebound from initial economic affects from the war, the overall economy could be hurt if the conflict drags on.

"If this war goes on for more than a few weeks, then the price at the pump will become sticky and consumers will feel the pinch, get very upset and cut back," said Mitchell O. Goldberg, president of Melville-based financial advisory firm ClientFirst Strategy Inc.

Goldberg said because the energy sector touches virtually every aspect of the economy, particularly on Long Island where most goods and materials are brought in via truck, a protracted conflict in the Middle East could have an inflationary impact. 

"Energy prices are a feedstock for everything," Goldberg said. "Everything is made with some kind of petroleum, or it was transported using energy."