Gas Price Increases Steeper in Great Lakes Region: GasBuddy

Gasoline prices are up from a week ago --- and the increase is sharper in the Great Lakes region, than it is nationwide.

The gas price tracking website Gasbuddy.com reports Champaign-Urbana area gas prices at an average of $3.77 for a gallon of regular gasoline  --- up 23 cents compared to a week ago. In comparison, the national average of 3-68 is up 12 cents from last week.

GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan says despite the steep price increases, gasoline prices are only a bit above where they were last year.

"I can’t say where I would usually expect it, because the economy is a significant wild card in that factor", said DeHaan. "But it’s not surprisingly high, nor is it surprisingly low. It’s kind of very similar to where I would have expected."

The increase in the average price of gasoline is based on a range of prices in the Champaign-Urbana area , from $3.54 to $3.79. DeHaan says that's partly a matter of when retailers purchased their gasoline, as wholesale prices went up.

DeHaan says gasoline prices are being pushed up by a decline in oil inventories plus an increase in demand, spurred by positive economic news. While he won’t predict beyond the near future, DeHaan says he thinks gasoline prices may go up, then stabilize for a while, and come down slowly.