BALTIMORE, MD—For the second straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has risen, jumping 8 cents from a week ago to $3.44 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 7.1 cents from a month ago but 87.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 4.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.30 per gallon, 82.1 cents lower than one year ago.

“With the transition to more expensive summer gasoline underway coast to coast, wholesale gasoline prices continue to inch up at a rate typical for this time of year, reflected in the national average rising for the second straight week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“While oil prices edged slightly lower on weaker outlooks for economic growth, continued refinery maintenance and the higher cost of seasonal blends of fuel are offsetting oil’s decline,” De Haan added. “The price of diesel, however, continues to slowly decline as we see consumption for diesel lighten up. The best news for both gasoline and diesel prices is how significant a drop we’ve seen from year-ago levels, with more disinflation to come in the weeks ahead, even as gas prices are likely to inch up.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.29 per gallon, up 30 cents from last week, followed by $3.19, $3.09, $3.39, and $3.49 rounding out the top five most common prices.  The median U.S. gas price is $3.29 per gallon, up 8 cents from last week and about 15 cents lower than the national average.  The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.70 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.92 per gallon.  The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.97), Mississippi ($3.00), and Arkansas ($3.06).  The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.87), Hawaii ($4.81), and Nevada ($4.29).

See previous gas price reports here

In the Baltimore metro area, the cheapest gas this week could be found at the following locations:

Photo via Pixabay