The national average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline increased 1.4 cents to $2.487 per gallon for the week ending March 9, marking six consecutive weeks of advancing prices, according to federal data.

While the price of unleaded has increased 44.3 cents since late January, it remains $1.025 lower than it was a year ago. Prices rose in eight of the nine regions tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and fell 3.9 cents to $2.339 in the Midwest region. The sharpest increase came in the Central Atlantic region, where prices rose 5.4 cents to $2.503.

Gasoline prices have also been rising in state averages tracked by AAA in their Daily Fuel Gauge Report. California has the highest prices at $3.434 per gallon with Hawaii also above the $3-per-gallon level ($3.132). Nine other states have an average price above $2.50. The cheapest average price came in South Carolina at $2.156 per gallon.

Meanwhile, the average price of a gallon of diesel rose 0.8 cent to $2.944. Diesel costs $1.077 less than it did a year ago.