As oil prices rise, lowest gas prices may be in rearview mirror

With oil prices back over $50 per barrel, gas prices may soon bottom out and start to move higher, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“While it doesn’t seem that prices will rise very far, it looks more and more like the lowest price of the year may now be behind us,” DeHaan said.

“The national average briefly hit $2.22 per gallon last week, but likely will move up slightly or stabilize this week,” he said. “Gas prices in the Great Lakes saw a noticeable jump last week and tend to see among the earliest trend changes in the country, which may be a harbinger of what’s to come for the rest of us.”

In Pittsburgh, gas prices fell 0.7 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $2.46 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 731 stations. That’s 18.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and 33.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average increased 0.5 cents per gallon to $2.24. That’s 14.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and 28.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

Brian Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.