Though the national average for regular gas edged up only a penny this past week, motorists in several states saw larger increases — and according to AAA, the total solar eclipse was part of the reason.
According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, regular rose 9 cents in Oregon to $2.83, for example, and AAA said that was due to an influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors who wanted to be in the path of the total eclipse.
Average prices for regular rose by 4 cents in Idaho, 5 cents in Michigan and Utah, and six cents in Washington. The week's biggest jump was in Indiana, where regular rose 10 cents to a statewide average of $2.42. Prices have been gyrating all month in Indiana; this week's increase followed a 9-cent decline the previous week. Prices had jumped by around 17 cents the first two weeks of August.
Here's what was happening in other pockets of the U.S. this week:
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South Carolina had the lowest average price for regular, $2.07, followed by Alabama and Mississippi at $2.10.
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Hawaii had the highest average price, $3.09. California's average was at $2.98 and Washington's at $2.86.
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Elsewhere, pump prices were flat or down a penny or two through most of the Southeast and Southwest.
Gas prices had been trickling down for more than a week but started edging up again on Monday. The national average for regular was $2.35 early Thursday, according to AAA. Premium gas was unchanged from a week ago at $2.87, and diesel was unchanged at $2.53.