Gas prices creep up on LI but may be past peak

Gasoline prices crept up fractionally on Long Island in the past week but may have already hit the spring-summer peak, according to the AAA.

Regular averaged $2.951 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 current Long Island average is 5.5 cents higher than a year earlier, but 11 cents less than a month ago.

"We may have seen the peak; prices might start creeping downward," said Robert Sinclair, AAA Long Island spokesman. However, a hurricane on the Gulf Coast or trouble in Iran could significantly impact gas prices. Earlier this week, oil prices initially soared after China said it would let its yuan appreciate against the dollar.

Wednesday, longislandgaspric es.com, which compiles motorist reports, listed prices as high as $3.29 for regular at seven Suffolk stations, and no lower than $2.73, at US Petroleum in Medford.