Gas prices appear to be on their way up again in Central Indiana.The 58 Speedway stores in the Indianapolis area raised pump prices as much as 25 to 35 cents today to a uniform $2.09 for a gallon of the most inexpensive grade of unleaded gas. The Web site gasbuddy.com tracked other plus-$2 stations in the area at Marathon, Shell and Countrymark.

That’s despite the fact thatnationally, oil fell below $50today.

Benchmark crude for May delivery fell $1.47 cents to $49.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The price of oil rose as high as $53.60 Monday as investors sought to ride the momentum from a two-month rally in crude prices. Crude has jumped from below $35 a barrel in February.Since paying $4 a gas as recently as last summer, motorists have enjoyed a four-month break. In December, the average price in Indiana was around $1.70 a gallon and it was $1.95 today, according to AAA and Oil Price Information Service.The average has crept above $2 before but slid back down.

PUMP PATROL:Lowest gas prices in the Indy area.

“We have seen upward and downward movement both in crude oil price and fuel price as well,” said Greg Seiter, spokesman for AAA Hoosier Motor Club. “With weak consumer spending, its hard to gauge, quite honestly. We know typically in the spring, with the introduction of reformulated gas, that prices tend to go up.”But he said there are so many mixed signs about the health of the economy. “There is no clear-cut rationale as to why prices are jumping and dropping back off again … (but) I do not expect gas prices will make a significant jump any time soon. There’s simply no reason to do so.”Mary Jo Bussell, a 62-year-old Indianapolis caregiver, found gas at $1.83 per gallon at Speedway on East Washington Street near Downtown on Monday and filled up in advance of the surge past $2. She said she was glad to have gotten it cheaper but didn’t like having to play a guessing game.“I’m not happy to see it go up … I think it’s ridiculous,” Bussell said.

A year ago today the average price was $3.31 in Indiana.