Gas prices rise with Middle East tensions: Where do they go from here?

Gas prices are trickling up, with analysts pointing to the tensions in the Middle East as the reason why.

“The national average price of gasoline has returned to a slight climb over the last week as Iran‘s attack on Israel has slowly funneled to the gas pump, as expected,” said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which is reporting on Monday that the national average price of gasoline has risen 3.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.16 per gallon at the start of the business day.

Average gasoline prices in Virginia have risen 8.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.13 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 4,081 stations in Virginia.

Prices in Virginia are 8.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 25.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average price of diesel has declined 3.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.57 per gallon – the lowest level since January 2022, over 900 days ago.

De Haan foresees a return to price declines sooner rather than later.

“With oil prices recently starting to fall again, the rise we saw could end before you know it. And with restoration happening in Florida, we could start to see a decline in gas prices in the weeks ahead, with a good chance of seeing the first sub-$3 per gallon national average since 2021,” De Haan said.