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SALT LAKE CITY — The cost of filling up at the gas pump is rising like the heat in July.
According to AAA, Utah fuel prices in May showed the greatest increase in the nation — jumping 28 cents per gallon, then held steady in June. This month, the average price rose 14 cents, AAA reported.
The current average price for regular gasoline in the Beehive State is $3.71 per gallon — the same price as a year ago at this time. The July AAA report showed 17 states nationwide reporting pump prices higher than Utah.
Every Utah city tracked by the report registered double-digit hikes compared with last month, with the largest increase — 15 cents — reported in Moab and Ogden. Vernal had the smallest increase at 11 cents.
Nationally, the average price remained flat at $3.65 per gallon — 18 cents higher than last July. Drivers in Hawaii are paying the most per gallon at $4.34, while California reported the highest average price in the lower 48 states at $4.14.
Joining Hawaii and California as states exceeding the $4 per gallon mark were Alaska and Washington. Meanwhile, drivers in South Carolina paid the lowest average price at $3.37 per gallon.
This year, the national average price of $3.66 per gallon was the highest it has been since 2009, said AAA Utah spokesperson Rolayne Fairclough. But it was well below the all-time high for the date of $4.10 in 2008, she added.
