Arkansas gas prices up 17 cents over past week

Regular unleaded gas was selling for just under $3.30 a gallon Monday morning, Feb. 4, 2013, at the Shell station on Broadway Street in downtown Little Rock,
Regular unleaded gas was selling for just under $3.30 a gallon Monday morning, Feb. 4, 2013, at the Shell station on Broadway Street in downtown Little Rock,

The AAA says gas prices in Arkansas have gone up 17 cents in the past week.

The average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Arkansas is $3.34 as of Monday. A week ago, the price was $3.17 per gallon. A month ago, the price was $3.06, according to AAA.

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area reported the highest average price among the state’s metropolitan areas, at $3.37 per gallon. The national average is $3.52 per gallon.

Meanwhile, in the Fort Smith and Texarkana areas, the price was $3.36; in Pine Bluff, it was $3.35; and in the Little Rock-North Little Rock area, it was $3.34.

At the Shell station on Broadway Street in downtown Little Rock, regular unleaded gas was selling for just under $3.30 a gallon Monday morning.

A steady stream of drivers were stopping in to fill up despite the rising prices. One woman said she didn't even notice prices had gone up, but other customers said they did.

Malcolm Dale, 54, said he cuts back his driving to save money anyway, but especially when prices jump like they have recently. The North Little Rock resident said he's not surprised by the increases.

"No," he said with a laugh as he filled up Monday. "Because if you look around, everything is going up."

John Allbritton, an insurance and bonds salesman, said the rising prices are a pain because he travels three to four days a week for work and can't cut back.

"It's a huge expense," he said. "What I do in sales causes me to travel a lot, so it just becomes a bigger expense."

Officials say retail prices in the central United States have risen the most dramatically as a result of an increase in the costs of products used by refiners that supply the region. The most expensive gas in the country was Hawaii's at $4.14; the least expensive Wyoming's at $2.94.

Arkansas’ record high for gasoline is $3.97 per gallon, set in July 2008.

Information for this article was contributed by Gavin Lesnick of ArkansasOnline and by The Associated Press.

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