Average price for gallon of gas in Olympia hits $4.04

Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is here and local motorists aren't happy.

The average price for a gallon of gas in Olympia reached $4.04 on Monday - three cents higher than the state average - according to the AAA auto club.

Across the state, drivers are paying 6 cents more than the national average and 6 cents more than they paid a week ago, with increases of 20 cents seen in a month and 92 cents in the past year. The last time gas averaged $4 or above in Washington was mid-August 2008, according to a spokesperson for AAA, according to The Olympian.

The national average for a gallon of regular increased by a penny Monday to $3.95. That's $1.07 higher than a year ago.

Drivers in 13 states and the District of Columbia are paying more than $4 a gallon.

Prices at the pump are determined by the price of crude oil, and Madeja said it's difficult to predict what might happen in coming months because of government overthrows and tension in the Middle East.

The price of oil was volatile Monday, first dropping below $111 a barrel early in the day after President Obama announced Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. Benchmark crude for June delivery eventually settled at $113.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ArgusLeader.com reports.