Islands see more pain at the pump

Average retail gasoline prices in Hawaii increased 5.9 cents per gallon in the past week, compared to an average penny increase around the country, HawaiiGasPrices.com reported  Monday.

Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said in a news release he expects “2012 to be a nasty year for the typical motorist.”

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Hawaii was $4.04 last week, HawaiiGasPrices.com reported.

AAA Hawai‘i reported in its Daily Fuel Gauge Report on Monday that the average price per gallon in Hawa‘i was already moving up this week, to $4.058 cents per gallon.

Only Hawai‘i was posting gas prices above the $4 mark, with the next highest Alaska at $3.875 as of Monday and California at $3.705. Utah boasted the bargain price of $2.923 per gallon of regular, according to AAA Hawai‘i.

In Hawai‘i, the lowest average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.89 in Honolulu, with the Big Island reporting $4.21 per gallon and Maui reporting $4.35 per gallon.

Prices ranged by as much as 29 cents on Kaua‘i, according to GasBuddy.com. This website reported a recent range in the average price of regular gasoline in Lihu‘e of $4.13 to $4.23. Waimea reported a range of $4.31 to $4.42. Kalaheo reported an average of $4.27 to $4.32 per gallon for regular.

Apparently, there is more pain at the pump ahead, according to a recently published 2012 forecast by analysts for GasBuddy.com.

From April 15 through May 31, prices are expected to climb as refiners begin producing cleaner burning summer gasoline and perform maintenance, resulting in plant restarts and possible low supplies of mandated blends.

Prices after May and June should start slowly declining unless fears of hurricanes in the fall affect prices, the report states.