Gas prices continue to push up sharply: Is there a break on the horizon for consumers?

Gas prices continue to push upward, jumping 7.8 cents per gallon nationally, to $3.79 per gallon, according to a Monday update from GasBuddy.

Virginia drivers are paying an average of $3.67 per gallon, up 7.7 cents per gallon from a week ago.

The issue: the continuation of a recent trend of increases in oil prices and continued pressure from hot weather that has impacted U.S. refineries.

Diesel is up a concerning 14.9 cents per gallon, to $4.14 per gallon, and we will likely see “upward momentum” with diesel prices in the coming weeks, per Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

The short-term trend for other motorists is positive: “The pace of increases has started to slow down over the last few days, and for now, appears to have hit a peak over the weekend and is beginning to gently fall,” De Haan said.

But, and there’s always a but …

“With oil remaining under pressure from Saudi Arabia extending its 1 million barrel per day production cut into September, the respite from gasoline rising may not last long,” De Haan said.