Gas prices hit high level earlier in year

LOS ANGELES – U.S. motorists have seen the national average for regular gasoline rise above $3.50 a gallon in just three different years, but it has never happened this early.

The national average hit $3.52 a gallon, the Energy Department said Monday, up 4.1 cents from a week earlier. Analysts said the early price shocker is likely a sign that pain at the pump will rise to some of the highest levels ever this year.

“This definitely sets the stage, potentially, for much higher prices later this year,” said Brian L. Milne, refined-fuels editor for Telvent DTN, a commodity information services firm. “There’s a chance that the U.S. average tops $4 a gallon by June, with some parts of the country approaching $5 a gallon.”

Even in 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 nationally during the summer, the U.S. average didn’t climb above $3.50 until April 21, according to the Energy Department’s weekly survey of service stations. The $3.50 mark also was breached last year, but not until March 6.

This time, the dubious milestone was hit weeks before prices usually rise because of refineries typically shutting down for spring maintenance, and weeks before the prices rise again when states switch from less expensive winter blends of gasoline to more complicated and more expensive summer blends.

Some cities, including Los Angeles and New York, already are closing in on $4 a gallon, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy .com, a website that tracks gas prices.