Gas Prices Continue Push Toward $4 a Gallon

The price to fill up at the pump continues to get more expensive with each passing week.

According to the latest AAA survey, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped to $3.56 a gallon on Sunday, up 5 cents from a week ago and 40 cents from the same week a year ago.

In Maryland, the average price for a gallon of unleaded fuel jumped to $3.61, up 3 cents in a week and 51 cents from the same time in 2011, the survey continued.

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The prices represent a record price for this time of the year, according to a AAA news release. AAA reports the average price for regular unleaded didn’t reach $3.50 a gallon in 2011 until March 8.

Impending sanctions against Iran and rising global demand have helped gas prices to inch closer to the record $4.11 a gallon U.S. average set in July 2008, despite U.S. demand being at its lowest level since January 2000, the release states. 

Here are some of the cheapest gas prices in the Essex-Middle River area, according to Patch’s gas tracker page and MarylandGasPrices.com:

Gas Station Address Price of Unleaded Carroll Fuel 35 Back River Neck Road $3.49 Carroll Fuel 101 Back River Neck Road $3.50 Xtra Mart 724 Eastern Blvd. $3.53 Gulf 9526 Pulaski Highway $3.53 Exxon 100 Back River Neck Road $3.55

How does rising gas prices impact your feeling about the proposed gas tax in Maryland? Tell us in the comments section below.