Experts: Gas Prices Will Keep Going Up
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gas prices are on the rise, and experts say we can expect them to keep rising as we head toward spring.
As CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, on Monday morning, a gallon of regular unleaded was going for $3.85 at the Citgo station at Division Street and California Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
AAA says the average for Chicago is $3.58, seven cents more than the $3.51 average the Lundberg Survey has calculated for the entire country.
ChicagoGasPrices.com says the average retail gasoline price has actually fallen 1.6 cents per gallon in the last week, but they are up 26.8 cents per gallon since the same period a year ago.
"Retail gasoline prices have continued to slowly rise across a majority of the United States," GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said in a news release. "With the exception of one state- Wyoming- all states are seeing their gasoline prices averaging over $3/gallon again, with some of the largest cities- New York City and Los Angeles closing in on $4/gallon," DeHaan said.
Prices already hit their highest level ever for the month of January this year, with an average of $3.69 for Cook County. AAA spokeswoman Beth Mosher said last week that the spike would have been even worse if not for sluggish demand.
Experts added last week that with Persian Gulf tensions ratcheting up over Iranian nuclear ambitions, oil prices are not likely to come down anytime soon.
