Gasoline prices on LI up just slightly

Long Island gasoline prices crept up Wednesday from a week ago but have remained below the $3-a-gallon mark, according to the AAA.

Also Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy reported an unexpected 2.1 percent increase in crude supplies -- the highest bump since March 19 -- and oil prices fell. In trading Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, futures tumbled by 51 cents to settle at $76.99 a barrel.

Regular gasoline averaged $2.933 a gallon in Nassau and Suffolk Wednesday, up a fraction of a cent from a week earlier, according to a survey of gas stations done for the group. The Long Island average is 18 cents higher than a year ago, and 3 cents lower than a month ago.

But R. Moke McGowan, president of the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission, said higher pump prices didn't seem to be keeping everyone off the roads.

"Thus far, it seems to be translating into a decent summer," he said. For instance, he said he has heard of  "a decent amount of traffic on the North Fork among the vineyards."

On a website that compiles motorist reports, longislandgasprices.com, customers Wednesday found prices for regular as high as $3.29 at two stations, and at just $2.75 at 11 stations.