Chicagoland Gas Prices Hit Highest Level Of 2016

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago area gas prices have climbed back to their highest levels in months.

"A lot of stations in the suburbs going up in price anywhere from $2.59 to $2.69 a gallon; that's the highest price of the year," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com.

DeHaan said the increase is due, in part, to refinery maintenance, which will take longer than expected.

"It appears that most maintenance won't be wrapped up until mid- to late-June, so we're going to be subject to higher prices than normal, or higher prices than the rest of the country, because of this long extensive refinery maintenance season," he said.

Prices on Tuesday were still 50 to 60 cents lower than this time last year.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in the Chicago area was $2.56 on Tuesdayl, but DeHaan said the suburbs could see prices going up 20 to 40 cents per gallon by the end of the day.

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