The AAA Western and Central New York says gasoline prices are tilting back up, now to a statewide average of $3.55, more than a dollar a gallon more than a year ago. AAA reports the following averages:
· Batavia – $3.51 (up eight cents from last week)
· Buffalo – $3.49 (up four cents from last week)
· Ithaca – $3.54 (up five cents from last week)
· Rochester – $3.55 (up five cents from last week)
· Rome – $3.58 (up five cents from last week)
· Syracuse – $3.51 (up four cents from last week)
· Watertown – $3.54 (up two cents from last week)
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand is in a typical range for the winter driving season. Continued growth in crude oil prices are pushing the increases, and those are being drive in part by the tension between Russia and Ukraine. An invasion would force prices higher.