(GasBuddy) The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen for the fourth straight week, climbing 6.4 cents from a week ago to $3.51 per gallon Monday according to GasBuddy® data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 27.0 cents from a month ago and 8.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.0 cents in the last week and stands at $4.02 per gallon—21 cents lower than one year ago.

“We’ve now seen the national average price of gasoline rising for four straight weeks, which isn’t uncommon for this time of year. What is uncommon is the number of attacks on Russian oil refiners; attacks which could have ripple effects worldwide if they continue,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Russia could see more capacity impacted by the attacks, forcing it to buy such products on the global market, pushing prices up everywhere. With oil prices now under more pressure and attacks potentially increasing on Russian refiners, we could be in for a few more weeks of rising prices. Significant as well is the fact that Americans are now seeing inflation again at the pump with prices higher than they were a year ago.”

OIL PRICES
After rising to nearly $83 per barrel last week, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has lost some of its steam but was again trading higher early Monday as new geopolitical concerns were coming into focus: mainly between escalating conflict in the Middle East, and the war between Russia and Ukraine, with declining U.S. oil rig counts adding to the challenges. In early Monday trade, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 31 cents to $80.94 per barrel, around 50 cents lower than last week’s $81.49 per barrel fetch. Brent crude oil also saw strength early in Monday’s session, up 32 cents to $85.75 per barrel, nearly identical to last week’s $85.77 per barrel start. There remains a growing consensus that oil demand will continue to exceed supply, which could keep oil pushing the upside, against U.S. oil production which remains down 200,000 barrels from its recent high.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the EIA showed a relatively small drop—2 million barrels—in U.S. oil inventories, while the SPR rose 800,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels as refiners get closer to purging any remaining winter gasoline out of their systems, while distillate inventories rose 600,000 barrels. The good news for U.S. drivers is that refinery utilization, a key metric measuring output, continued to rise last week to 87.8%. Implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail demand, fell 235,000 bpd to 8.81 million barrels, above GasBuddy’s recent estimate.

FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a rise of 0.8% for the week ending March 24 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 0.1% in PADD 1, rose 1.0% in PADD 2, rose 2.0% in PADD 3, rose 3.7% in PADD 4, and fell 1.6% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.712 million barrels per day.

GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.39 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.49, $3.19, and $3.09 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, up 8 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.75 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.98 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Colorado ($3.02), Mississippi ($3.06), Louisiana ($3.13).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.95), Hawaii ($4.66), and Washington ($4.38).

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.89, $3.79, $4.19, and $3.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.91 per gallon, up 2 cents from last week and about 11 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.98 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.45 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.58), Texas ($3.61), and Mississippi ($3.65).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.63), California ($5.34), and Washington ($4.58).