NORTH COUNTY - The average price of a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline in North County rose by 4.8 cents over the past week to $3.13, a record high for the month of March, according to a survey released Wednesday.

A year ago, gas was selling for an average of $2.67 per gallon in the region, said Charles Langley, gas analyst with the Utility Consumers' Action Network in San Diego, which conducts the weekly survey for the North County Times.

A chart listing gas prices recorded Wednesdays at stations throughout North County runs every Thursday. Starting this week, the newspaper will also run the chart on Sunday, listing prices compiled on Saturday.

The gap between the higher price of gas this week and a year ago is 46 cents. Yet the price of crude oil futures is about the same, $59.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange market Wednesday and $60.57 a year ago.

"This shows how dysfunctional our gasoline markets are," Langley said. "We have a failed regulatory environment."

He noted, however, that the spot market for oil in Los Angeles plummeted Wednesday. That could mean that today, independent dealers in North County will be able to sell gasoline for less than $3 a gallon and still make a reasonable profit.

What we don't know is if the lower spot market prices will stick at their currently low levels, or if they will once again go skyward. The last month has been a manic-depressive cycle for surplus gasoline prices.