BLOOMINGTON - Twin City gas prices are slowly inching toward $3 per gallon, following in the footsteps of higher oil prices in recent weeks.

The cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Bloomington-Normal increased from around $2.89 a gallon Wednesday to $2.96 a gallon Thursday.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices reached another record, at $96 a barrel Thursday.

Gas prices increased in direct response to higher oil prices, said AAA spokeswoman Nicole Niemi. The average cost for regular unleaded gasoline across the nation Thursday was $2.91 a gallon, higher than the $2.79 average one month ago.

"It took just a little while longer for the price at the pump to catch up to the price per barrel," Niemi said.

There are a few reasons for the price hike delay, Niemi said. Supply is up, demand is down and refineries have switched to a less expensive winter blend, she said.

Those factors have saved consumers from what could have been a very large increase, Niemi said. Consumers nationwide paid a record price of $3.28 per gallon at the end of May when oil prices were lower. Bloomington-Normal's gasoline prices also peaked in May at $3.47 a gallon.

The price of gasoline in the Twin Cities was significantly lower a year ago, when the price was $2.19 per gallon.