SAGINAW, MI (WNEM/AP) -
Several local gas stations raised the price for a gallon of unleaded to $3.49 on Thursday morning.
Prices had been hovering in the $3.18 to $3.22 range for the last week. A recent rise in crude oil prices and tension between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz are possibly contributing to the increased cost.
On Thursday, oil prices slid after the government reported that crude supplies grew unexpectedly last week.
U.S. crude fell by 73 cents Thursday to $98.63 per barrel in New York. The Energy Information Administration says that U.S. oil supplies rose by 3.9 million barrels last week. Analysts expected supplies to shrink. The weekly report also says that U.S. oil demand has dropped by 7.8 percent from the same time last year. Gasoline demand has declined by 5.6 percent.
At the pump, retail gasoline prices rose by about a penny to a national average of $3.254 per gallon.
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