Fuel prices of another kind – the cost of a morning cup of coffee – continue to rise across the nation.  At Wawa convenience stores on Monday, coffee prices increased by six cents per cup, reports the Associated Press.  The company said that rising general costs, particularly fuel and transportation costs, had led to the higher pricing.

“We posted signs in stores this week as a courtesy. So many customers are in a hurry and have exact change ready,” said Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce.  Forewarned customers now will pay $1.15 for 12 ounces, $1.25 for 16 ounces, $1.35 for 20 ounces and $1.45 for 24 ounces, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Wawa, which has 568 convenience stores operating in five states, sells 165 million cups of coffee annually so the six cent increase will bring in an additional $11.7 million in revenue, according to the paper.

“While we have done everything we can to contain costs and avoid passing along price increases, rising general costs associated with coffee including rising fuel and transportation costs have led to this price increase,” Bruce told The Cherry Hill Courier Post.

While 7-Eleven Inc. and McDonald’s have not announced any plans to increase coffee prices, a McDonald’s spokesperson did acknowledge that the country is in “challenging economic times,” the Courier Post reported.  Last fall, Caribou Coffee increased coffee prices by eight cents per cup. Starbucks last raised its coffee prices by an average of nine cents per cup in July 2007.