NOTTINGHAM, MD—The nation’s average gas price has risen 1.3 cents per gallon from a week ago to $3.16 per gallon on 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 10.2 cents higher than a month ago and 98.0 cents higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.0 cents in the last week and stands at $3.27 per gallon.

“Gas prices across the country have been a bit sideways in the last week with a mixed bag of decreases and increases. But overall, the national average hasn’t seen much meaningful direction as oil prices remain under their early-July levels thanks to OPEC coming to an agreement on production over the weekend,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “OPEC’s plan is to raise oil production by 400,000 bpd each month until 2022, at which time OPEC’s oil production will be back at pre-Covid levels. It’s a positive development in light of U.S. gasoline demand which rose nearly 2% last week, which should act as a loose ceiling on the price of oil. This could mean we’re even closer to seeing a peak in the national average if we haven’t already.”

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 $4.15 per gallon, up 3 cents from a week ago, while the lowest 10% average $2.72 per gallon, up 2 cents from a week ago. The median U.S. price is $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 17 cents lower than the national average. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.76), Louisiana ($2.79) and Alabama ($2.83). The states with the highest priced states: California ($4.30), Hawaii ($4.02) and Nevada ($3.87).

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 $2.83 at each location, up from $2.76 last week.  The price at BJ’s at 4201 Wholesale Club Drive is also among the cheapest in the area at $2.85 per gallon for regular gas.

The Exxon station located at 8485 Honeygo Boulevard in White Marsh is among the most expensive in the area, with regular gasoline priced at $3.69 per gallon.

Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels