Gas Prices Still Going Up... For Now.

Gas prices have been rising again… and they will likely get higher still before we get a break.

Although the price at the pump has been going up for a month or so, last week at this time, filling your tank still costs less on average than it did a year ago.  But Triple-A Carolinas spokeswoman Angela Vogel-Daley says that's no longer the case.

"Well, right now in North Carolina the average is 3.68," Daley says, "and that actually is higher than a year ago. Over the weekend, we exceeded our last year's price for the calendar date."

And this is due, at least in part to the time of year. According to Daley, "This is when the refineries are switching to those summer fuel blends, and so they're less efficient, the output is restricted, and so the supply gets tighter.  We usually see gas prices going up between February and April and then usually they'll start to head down in May and the early part of the summer before going back up again."

But that's not the only reason prices have been on the rise. "The other factor is the economy, and as the economy improves, crude oil prices go up, and so we do think that gas prices will continue to go up in the early spring, but at some point, they'll start to head downward, probably closer to April or May."

The highest gas price in North Carolina can be found in Asheville, at 3-72 a gallon… and the lowest is in Charlotte, at 3-66.