Gas prices inch higher following busy Memorial Day travel weekend

Gas prices are up nearly three cents a gallon nationwide as people are back home from a busy Memorial Day travel weekend.

According to the tracking site GasBuddy, the national average for a gallon of unleaded is $3.55 on Tuesday, up 2.7 cents per gallon from last week.

The average in Virginia is $3.33 a gallon, up 3.5 cents per gallon from last week.

The national average price of diesel has fallen 4.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.91 per gallon.

“Gasoline prices have drifted higher in the last week due to some relatively minor refinery kinks and low gasoline supply, but it may not be a trend that lasts too much longer,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, who projects prices to stay in the range of $3.35-$3.85 per gallon this summer, though they could go higher “if unexpected refinery outages flare up, or we see a major hurricane or economic development.”

“While gasoline prices have inched up slightly, we’re still faring much better than we did last year, when the national average started to soar after Memorial Day on its way up to the $5 per gallon mark,” De Haan noted.