Pace of gas price increases, tied to coronavirus recovery, slows

The average price of gasoline in the Pittsburgh area didn’t budge over the past week after several weeks of increases, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy.

The average price on Monday remained $2.33 a gallon, the same as it was a week ago, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. That’s 17.7 cents a gallon more than a month ago, but 68.7 cents per gallon less than a year ago.

Prices in the Pittsburgh area ranged from $1.97 a gallon to $2.59. Statewide, per-gallon prices ranged from $1.85 up to $3.11.

The national average rose 0.7 cents a gallon in the last week, to an average of $1.97. That’s 20 cents per gallon more than a month ago, but 84.5 cents less than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

The national average is likely to reach $2 a gallon in the next week or two, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“Prices will continue to move in lock-step with the coronavirus situation, so it remains challenging to know where prices will go in the weeks ahead,” De Haan said.

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

• Akron — $2.07, up 10.2 cents a gallon from last week.

• Cleveland — $2.04, up 8.4 cents a gallon from last week.

• West Virginia — $1.92, up 2.6 cents a gallon from last week.