Gas prices rise slightly in the past week: Should be back below $3.00 per gallon soon

Gas prices are up, but it’s not a factor of the widespread destruction in the Southeast from Hurricane Helene.

Virginia, on Monday, is up 3.8 cents per gallon from a week ago, with the average at $3.00 per gallon, according to data from GasBuddy. Nationally, gas prices are up, on average, 1.4 cents per gallon, to $3.17 per gallon.

The national average price of diesel has declined 1.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.54 per gallon.

GasBuddy has 18 states below the $3.00-per-gallon mark on average, according to Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“While Hurricane Helene left feet of rain behind and some states are seeing challenges in getting gasoline to stations, the storm did not broadly impact fuel production,” De Haan said. “For now, with oil prices falling back below $70 per barrel, the national average may be a bit stuck in the low $3s until fall maintenance wraps up, which could help bring a sub-$3 national average later this fall.”