The price of gas increased almost 25 cents in the past week to an average of $3.69 a gallon in Michigan on Monday, AAA Michigan reported. But the impact is not expected to be as severe as gas spikes last year and in 2008. The rapid rise in prices was felt across the state and nation. The price of gas reached as high as $3.99 a gallon at a Shell station in Troy late Monday, according to Gasbuddy.com, and nearly $6 at a station in Orlando, Fla. Increasing tensions between Israel and Iran over Iran's development of nuclear weapons, a strained domestic supply of crude oil and an impending switch to more expensive, government-required summer blends of gas are fueling the increase, analysts said. "These are the types of things that add to stress to the market and that lead to prices going up," said Gregg Laskoski, a senior petroleum analyst with gasbuddy.com. Despite the big run-up in prices, Michigan remains slightly below the national average price of $3.70, which was 13 cents higher than a week ago. At this time a year ago, Michigan was among the top 10 highest-priced states for fuel; this year, it's No. 16. The cheapest average price for regular unleaded fuel in Michigan is in the Flint area, at $3.64 a gallon. Metro Detroit matched the national average at $3.70. The rise in price is fueled mostly by the rise in the price of oil, AAA Michigan's Nancy Cain said. Oil has jumped to $108 a barrel in New York Monday from $101 a barrel two weeks ago. In addition, gas prices in the Great Lakes region tend to be particularly volatile this time of year as refineries rev up to start producing a summer blend of gasoline, Laskoski said. The switchover is usually completed by late March or early April but starts in early March, Cain said. The domestic supply of gas has been crimped by refinery closings on the East and West coasts, Laskoski said. Republican presidential hopefuls have criticized the Obama administration for the rising price of gas during the past week. At separate rallies in the Flint area over the weekend, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney both said that if elected they would relax regulations to allow more off-shore drilling to increase the domestic supply of oil. February is the earliest the national average price of gas has topped $3.50 a gallon. It tends to rise before the summertime driving season. Still, analyst predictions of impending $4-a-gallon gas will not likely have the same effect on consumers as in 2008, when gas rose above $4 for the first time, and 2011, when it an all-time high of $4.23 a gallon in Metro Detroit, according to AAA. "A stronger economy and a higher baseline for gas prices mean that consumers are in a better position to adjust to rising fuel costs," said Edmonds.com chief economist Lacey Plache. "A permanent shock to the economy is also unlikely, since higher prices will trigger the release of additional supply, and Middle Eastern countries … know that it's really not in their best interests to cut their oil exports," he said.

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