NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas tells Hutch Post that the trend in gas prices has turned this week.
"We're seeing now the first increases that we've seen at the pump since September," Steward said. "After being down at about $2.71 earlier this week as the Kansas average, we're now at $2.73. It started to inch up both here in the state and nationally."
Area county averages are on either side of the state average as of Thursday.
Reno: $2.64
McPherson: $2.61
Harvey: $2.66
Sedgwick: $2.72
Kingman: $2.72
Pratt: $2.84
Stafford: $2.79
Rice: $2.84
"Kansas right now has the 7th cheapest gas prices in the country," Steward said. "Still not a big hit to your wallet when you go to fill up for your holiday road trip."
Crude oil prices are still relatively low, as well.
"They're still in the 70s right now, in the $73-74 range," Steward said. "They've jumped up a little bit with concerns in the Red Sea with some shipping traffic and those ships coming under fire. There's been some rerouting of some oil tankers in that region, which has added to some transportation costs."
West Texas Intermediate Crude was at $73.31 per barrel as of this morning.
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