OPEC decision to cut production pushes predictable spike in gas prices

The nationwide increase in gas prices seen the past couple of weeks has finally come to Virginia.

Gas prices were up 18.9 cents per gallon in the Commonwealth in the past week, to $3.49 per gallon, with the national average nationwide at $3.92 per gallon, an increase of 13.8 cents.

The main driver of the push upward: OPEC’s move last week to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, an obvious effort to try to impact the U.S. midterm elections.

“Some of the refinery snags that have caused prices to surge in the West and Great Lakes appear to be improving, with prices in those two regions likely to inch down, even with OPEC’s decision, as the drop in wholesale prices has offset the rise due to the production cut,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“But where gas prices didn’t jump because of refinery issues, they will rise a total of 10-30 cents due to oil’s rise, and some areas are certainly seeing the jump already. For now, I don’t expect much improvement in prices for most of the country, with California and the Great Lakes as the exception, with downdrafts likely in the days and weeks ahead,” de Haan said.

GasBuddy data is accessible at prices.GasBuddy.com.