BALTIMORE, MD—For the third consecutive week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has risen, climbing 4.4 cents from a week ago to $3.44 per gallon this week according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

The national average is up 18.7 cents from a month ago and 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.00 per gallon—28 cents lower than one year ago.

“Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week. The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we’ve seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us. In some positive news for Midwest motorists, the bp refinery in Whiting, Indiana that can process 440,000 barrels of oil per day is finally back to normal operations for the first time since an electrical failure happened in early February. For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon. When it comes to diesel, the news has been good – above average temperatures have lowered heating oil demand, and average diesel prices are on the cusp of falling back below $4 per gallon.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.39 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.19, $3.09, and $3.49 rounding out the top five most common prices. The median U.S. gas price is $3.31 per gallon, up 9 cents from last week and about 13 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.68 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.90 per gallon. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($3.01), Colorado ($3.03), Oklahoma ($3.03). The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.87), Hawaii ($4.69), and Washington ($4.27).

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