NOTTINGHAM, MD—For the third straight week, the nation’s average gas price has increased, rising 2.5 cents from a week ago to $3.28 per gallon this week, 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 is up 14.9 cents from a month ago and 2.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 7.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.56 per gallon.

“We’ve seen somewhat of a mixed week at the pump with some states seeing gasoline prices rise, while others have stabilized for the time being. The good news as of late has been the continued decline in average diesel prices, which fell over a penny per day last week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“Oil prices have seen a bit of a rally, finishing last week at nearly $80 per barrel again as Chinese demand starts to jump as expected, but with COVID cases and deaths now also surging in China, the jump in demand could be short-lived. Gas prices may nudge up slightly in the week ahead in some areas, while others could hold flat. The window on price drops, however, appears to be coming up on the horizon as we get closer to what’s likely to be a significant refinery maintenance period ahead of summer,” De Haan added.

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.19 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week, followed by $2.99, $3.29, $3.09 and $3.39 rounding out the top five most common prices.  The median U.S. gas price is $3.19 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 9 cents lower than the national average.  The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.24 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.80 per gallon.  The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.90), Oklahoma ($2.91), and Texas ($2.92).  The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.94), California ($4.34), and Washington ($3.86).

See previous gas price reports here

In the NottinghamMD.com coverage area, the cheapest gas this week could be found at the following locations:

$2.99 per gallon
Sam’s Club
6410 Petrie Way Road
Rosedale, MD 21237

$3.09 per gallon
Costco
9919 Pulaski Highway
Middle River, MD 21220

Photo via Pixabay