Today may be April Fools Day, but no one is laughing about the steady rise of gasoline prices, both regionally and across the United States.
The auto club AAA reported that the average price for self-service regular gas stepped higher last week in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It was the second straight week in which the averages increased, after holding steady for one welcome week in mid March. In both states, the average price for self-service regular now stands firmly above $3.75 per gallon.
The overall U.S. average is even higher, according to the auto club. Last week the coast-to-coast tally topped $3.90 per gallon, making it the 14th straight week in which the national average rose.
In Massachusetts, the average price for self-service regular gas reached $3.812 on Wednesday, a 3.7 cent increase from the prior Wednesday's level of $3.775, AAA reported. Wednesday's figure was 30.2 cents higher than the state-wide average of $3.510 recorded on the same day last year.
The auto club put the New Hampshire average at $3.776 on Wednesday, up 4.1 cents from the prior Wednesday's average of $3.735 for self-service regular gas. On the same day of 2011, the New Hampshire average of $3.487 was 28.9 cents below Wednesday's level.
Wednesday's U.S. national average, at $3.911 per gallon, represented a 4.7 cent increase from the $3.864 recorded one week earlier by AAA. Wednesday's national average was 32.4 cents more than the $3.587 reported on the same day last year.
