Money Matters: Pump Prices Headed in Wrong Direction
By: KARK 4 News and CNN Wire Staff
Updated: January 13, 2013
The average price of a gallon of regular is $3.32, up more than 6 cents from three weeks earlier, the Lundberg Survey found.
Over 11 weeks between October and late December, the average dropped 58 cents a gallon.
According to AAA, pump prices in Arkansas are averaging out at $3.14.
Crude oil prices have jumped, triggering higher prices at the pump, said publisher Trilby Lundberg.
"Refiners have passed through only about half of the price hike that they received. So if crude oil prices stay approximately where they are, we will see a few more cents at the pump -- maybe 5 or 6 cents (per gallon) in the coming days."
Demand is generally lowest in January, so it is not expected to be a factor pushing up gas prices any time soon.
The current price is about 3 cents lower than it was a year ago.
The Lundberg Survey tabulates prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide.
The highest average found in the latest survey was in New York's Long Island, at $3.75 per gallon. The lowest was in Salt Lake City, at $2.76.
Taxes are part of what causes such difference in prices in different areas.
