/articles/2015/02/gas-prices-march-upward

Brace yourselves: Gasoline prices have increased for 10 straight days and will probably continue to march upward through February and into early spring.

The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said the national average for regular unleaded was $2.15 per gallon Thursday, 11 cents more than a week ago after it jumped by 4 cents on Wednesday and another 4 on Thursday. Gas prices had declined for a record 123 straight days and reached a six-year low of $2.03 on Jan. 28 before the spell was broken.

Research Fuel-Efficient Cars 

Expect more of the same: AAA said gas prices typically increase 30 to 50 cents per gallon between early February and the middle of spring as refineries temporarily shut down for scheduled maintenance.

“Yet even if gas prices increase as expected, drivers should continue paying at least a dollar less on gasoline than what they spent in recent years during the spring,” AAA spokesman Avery Ash said in a release.

Despite the recent price increases, motorists on average are paying $1.12 less today for regular than a year ago.

AAA expects that prices will remain less expensive than in recent years due to lower crude oil costs, and the national average for regular will remain below $3 per gallon in 2015.

Those reassuring words aside, motorists in several states were experiencing “sticker shock” at the pump compared to the last time they filled up. Pump prices increased by double digits in more than 20 states the past week, with the biggest increases in the Great Lakes states.

Average prices rose 18 cents in Ohio, 23 cents in Michigan, 24 cents in Illinois and 28 cents in Indiana. In Michigan, the average for regular has jumped 42 cents during the past two weeks to $2.28.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast operated at near capacity during December, when demand for gasoline was low, allowing inventories to build and helping drive down prices. The EIA said multiple refinery outages in those regions during January, both scheduled and unscheduled, reduced production and inventories and helped spark the recent price increases at the pump.

Oil prices also are on the rise. U.S. oil has recovered from a 52-week low of $44.08 on Jan. 28 and was trading at nearly $51 per barrel Thursday morning. Oil accounts for more than half the price of gasoline.

The result is that cheap gas is getting harder to find. Regular averaged less than $2 in only 15 states Thursday, according to AAA, compared to 27 states two weeks ago.

The lowest average prices were in Western states: $1.93 in Montana, $1.91 in Utah and $1.88 in Idaho. Missouri had laid claim to the nation’s cheapest gas for several weeks, but prices there have increased 23 cents the past two weeks to a statewide average of $1.99.

While gas prices have risen in most states, diesel fuel has continued to decline, falling 2 cents the past week to a $2.80 national average, $1.12 less than a year ago.

Cars.com photo by David Thomas