UPDATE
(AP) -- The average price for a gallon of gasoline across the U.S. is up to $3.67 a gallon.
That's an increase of 12 cents in the past week and 42 cents in the past month.
Myrtle Beach area prices jumped an average of two cents since yesterday.
The average of a gallon is now $3.50, up from $3.48, about 22 cents higher than last week and 30 cents higher than last month.
Last year around this time, we were at $3.46 a gallon.
Oil analyst Patrick DeHaan, with GasBuddy.com, says the reason, as usual, is the rising price of oil.
DeHaan says he's surprised to see the price jump so high in February when demand is normally low, and he's now concerned about what might happen next month.
"Traditionally gas prices rise anywhere from 40 to 60 cents a gallon in late March through early May," DeHaan explains. He says if that happens this year "it will easily send the national average over $4.00 a gallon."
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