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After experiencing a 15 month low in gasoline prices around Christmas Day, the cost has now risen four straight weeks according to GasBuddy.com, a crowd-sourced website and mobile app that tracks the price at the pump nationwide.

Kentucky’s statewide average price at the pump dipped to around $2.79 per gallon for regular unleaded gas around Christmas but has now risen to $3.21 as of mid-day Wednesday, a jump of 42 cents per gallon. That means a 20-gallon fill-up is now $8.40 more expensive than it was during the holiday season. One year ago, the average cost in Kentucky was $2.97 a gallon. See the chart that accompanies this story.

It’s the same story across the nation, as the U.S. average has climbed to $3.46 per gallon compared to $3.05 four weeks ago, a 41 cents-per-gallon hike. Last year at this time, the price was $3.35.

“Gasoline prices continued their upward trajectory as oil prices pulled them higher across the majority of the country, and continued refinery challenges kept supply of gasoline from rising more substantially,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

He says no relief is currently in sight.

“Macroeconomic factors have continued to weigh on oil and refined products, as strong demand in China hasn’t been slowed much by a surge in new COVID cases. In addition, releases of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have wrapped up. Concerns are increasing that without additional oil, supply will tighten in the weeks ahead, especially as the nation starts to move away from softer demand in the height of winter. Moving forward, it doesn’t look good for motorists, with prices likely to continue accelerating.”

If you wish to download the GasBuddy mobile app for your phone, it is available at the app stores for both iPhone and Android devices, and the Kentucky price website for regular, mid-grade, premium and diesel fuel can all be found at kentuckygasprices.com.