NOTTINGHAM, MD—The nation’s average gas price continues its climb, rising 0.5 cents per gallon from a week ago to $3.13 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

The national average now stands 5.0 cents higher than a month ago and 93.7 cents higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 1.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.25 per gallon.

“While the national average has seen a slight rise over the last week, we may see some stabilization coming to the pump as oil prices hold just under last week’s 2021 peak,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Without additional crude oil supply coming online, we could see oil test $80 per barrel in the next couple of weeks. However, with U.S. gasoline demand falling slightly last week, we may have already seen peak consumption over the July 4 holiday. The jury is still out, but we’re potentially only 4-6 weeks away from gas prices beginning a seasonal decline that we’re likely all eagerly awaiting.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists was $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $2.89, $3.09 and $2.79.  The average cost at the priciest 10% of stations stands at $4.12 per gallon, unchanged from a week ago, while the lowest 10% average $2.70 per gallon, up 3 cents from a week ago. The median U.S. price is $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 14 cents lower than the national average. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.75), Louisiana ($2.75) and Texas ($2.82). The states with the highest priced states: California ($4.29), Hawaii ($3.99) and Washington ($3.81).

In the NottinghamMD.com coverage area, the cheapest gas as of Monday morning was located at Costco (9919 Pulaski Highway) and at Sam’s Club (6410 Petrie Way). The price per gallon for regular gas was $2.76 at each location.

Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels