Fair / 70° F
FF gas prices jump to nearly $3.50/gallon [UPDATED]
Published 6:27am Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Updated 8:28am Tuesday, February 12, 2013Gasoline prices in the Twin Cities have jumped 19 percent since early January, the largest three-week rise in two years, AAA pricing data shows, according to a story in the Star Tribune newspaper.
The price for regular gasoline was selling at an average price of $3.55 per gallon on Friday, up from around $3 per gallon in early January.
In Fergus Falls, gas prices were running slightly lower than the state averag. M&H, Holiday Station and Sunmart were posting prices at $3.47 on Friday, while Casey’s was $3.49.
Michael Green, spokesman for the AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, said rising crude oil prices and regional refinery outages for maintenance, overhauls and early conversions to summertime blends are the main factors driving up pump prices.
Twin Cities’ gasoline prices ranked Friday in about the middle of the U.S. mainland states’ prices, with the highest in California at $4.01 per gallon, and the lowest in Wyoming at $3.02 per gallon for regular blends. Minnesota statewide prices were a couple cents lower than Twin Cities prices.
But Twin Cities prices are nowhere near their recent peak. Last September, prices briefly climbed to around $4, per gallon, a level also hit in May 2011.
Bloomberg, which tracks refinery outages, reported 20 refineries were all or partly down for various reasons in the Midwest region, which covers 15 states including Minnesota. That included a large BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., which is entirely down and undergoing a major overhaul.
