The average price of regular gasoline rose to ¥134.90 per liter as of Wednesday, the most it's been since touching ¥135.00 on July 20, the Oil Information Center said Friday.
The price at the pump was up ¥1.20 from the previous survey Dec. 20, marking the fifth consecutive weekly increase excluding the New Year's holidays, it said.
Attributing the rise to the global uptrend in crude oil markets, a center official said they expect gasoline prices to continue to advance slightly, tracing the rise of crude oil prices.
Forty-four prefectures saw an increase, with Nara marking the biggest rise at ¥3.20, followed by Toyama at ¥2.80 and Akita at ¥2.40.
Prices were down in Kochi and Okinawa prefectures, both by ¥0.10, and remained flat in Kagawa Prefecture.
The average price at the pump of high-octane gasoline stood at ¥145.60, up ¥1.20, while diesel rose to ¥115.50, an increase of ¥1.40.