(The Center Square) – Gas prices in Indiana took a sharp turn Friday as the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped by more than 7 cents.
According to data from AAA, the average price statewide was $3.746, up from $3.67 on Thursday. For a driver whose vehicle has an 18-gallon tank, it means a Friday fill-up costs $67.43, $1.37 more than the day before.
The increase comes after prices had been relatively calm across the state. The average price was $3.666 on the previous Friday.
It wasn’t just regular unleaded that saw prices jump. Mid-grade unleaded went up more than a nickel to $4.217, and premium rose more than six cents to $4.667.
Indiana’s one-day spike bucked the national trend, where the average price has stayed relatively the same. Still, at $3.859, the national average is 17 cents higher than a year ago, and AAA noted the average price nationally hit a year-to-date high of $3.88 earlier last week.
AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said gas prices typically drop around this time of the year as gas stations across most of the country switch over to less-expensive winter blends.
“But the gradual seasonal decline in pump prices is being slowed by higher oil costs, hovering around $90 a barrel,” he added.
The highest county average found in Indiana on Friday was in Whitley County. The county just west of Fort Wayne had an average price of $3.898. The lowest average was reported in Jefferson County. The southwestern county on the Ohio River had an average price of $3.421.
Regionally, only Illinois gas stations had a higher average price. Its Friday average of $3.918 was down nearly 6 cents from the previous week. At $3.67 Friday, Michigan’s average price was down nearly a nickel over the same timeframe.
Ohioans also reported a drop as the $3.561 Friday average was down more than 7 cents from the week before. In Kentucky, the $3.481 average cost was nearly four cents cheaper.
Still, Indiana’s increase paled to the hike Californians have witnessed over the past week. At $5.783 on Friday, the average price there – the nation’s highest – has risen more than a quarter. Mississippi still has the nation’s lowest average price, at $3.287, down more than 2 cents.
