CBS 5 - KPHO Gas prices on the rise for five straight weeks

Gas prices on the rise for five straight weeks

All you have to do is drive around town and you can see prices at the pump are painful.

They have been on the rise for five straight weeks now.

The average price here in the Valley right now is about $3.40 a gallon. That's up about 27 cents in just a month.

Some of the causes include tensions overseas and an unstable national economy.

But there is something else that could potentially make these prices worse - we are going into refinery maintenance season when the refineries that supply our gas make any necessary repairs, which slows down their workload. If everything goes as planned, then prices could stable out, but if any problems occur the prices could continue to go up.

AAA Arizona said it could be up to a dollar more than they are today.

"It's possible we could see prices hit that $4 mark this summer and even exceed our all time high, but we don't think that's a price point that will last," said Michelle Donati with AAA Arizona.

AAA Arizona also said the fact that our refineries have their maintenance season earlier than most is a good thing. The chances of problems happening are fewer and the likelihood of prices increasing to $4 or more are not probable, but it is still a good idea to budget just in case.

Related

• Which service stations sell the cheapest gas? Find out from CBS 5 Gas Tracker

Copyright 2012 KPHO (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.