Gas Prices Hit Record High For January
CHICAGO (CBS) -- January is typically a month when gas prices are low, but that is not the case this year.
As WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports, AAA says pump prices for January hit their highest level ever for this time of year.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports
Podcast
In Cook County, a gallon of regular gas averages $3.69 – 18 cents higher than last month, and up 32 cents from a year ago.
The average of $3.37 in northern Indiana also represents the highest ever for January.
ChicagoGasPrices.com says the highest price Monday morning was at the Mobil station at 3159 W. Chicago Ave. on the city's West Side, where gas was going for $4.09 per gallon.
AAA spokeswoman Beth Mosher attributes the spike to high oil prices, and says it would have been even worse if not for sluggish demand.
With Persian Gulf tensions ratcheting up over Iranian nuclear ambitions, oil prices are not likely to come down anytime soon.
