Just in time for summer: Gas at three dollars a gallon

Capital Region gasoline prices are edging closer to $3 a gallon, and analysts don't expect relief any time soon.

Prices averaged $2.95 for a gallon of regular unleaded, according to GasBuddy.com and  AAA's Fuel Gauge Report. They're up nearly three cents in just one day and 52 cents higher than a year ago.

The latest factor propelling prices is the impact of sanctions on Iran, which has pushed crude oil prices higher.

"Prices could continue to inch up," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com. "Most of this has to do with the price of oil."

DeHaan said that, so far, Iran has had "very minor impact, a couple of cents a gallon," on gasoline prices. Larger factors have been the continuing reduction in output by OPEC members, which has eliminated a crude oil surplus, and the continuing decay of Venezuela's oil industry.

"Venezuela will be a long-term issue," DeHaan said. "Infrastructure has rotted away."

The price rise comes despite rising U.S. oil production, some of which is being sent overseas. U.S. oil exports set a record last week, climbing to 2.566 million barrels a day during the week ending May 11, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And DeHaan said the U.S. likely will surpass Russia this summer as the world's largest oil producer.

Three-dollar gas has already arrived in Schoharie County, according to GasBuddy.com, with prices there averaging $3.02 a gallon on Friday. Schenectady County had the lowest price at $2.926, followed by Saratoga County at $2.928, Rensselaer County at $2.929, and Albany County at $2.961.

The cheapest gas locally? That would be Bennington County, Vt., with an average price of $2.846.