Rising demand continues to push gas prices higher, analyst says

Gas prices in the Pittsburgh area jumped by nearly 8 cents a gallon in the past week, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy.

The average is now $2.42 a gallon, up 7.9 cents in the past week, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. That’s 11 cents a gallon more than a month ago, but 47.2 cents a gallon less than a year ago.

Prices in the Pittsburgh area range from $2.15 a gallon to $2.59. Statewide, prices range from $1.99 a gallon to $2.89, GasBuddy reports.

The national average went up 1.5 cents a gallon over the past week, and is now $2.12. That’s 17.2 cents a gallon more than a month ago, but 52.9 cents a gallon less than a year ago.

Rising demand has now pushed gas prices higher for eight straight weeks, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“Americans continue to increasingly get in the car as summer progresses, eager not to miss out on the best months of the year, and our data is clear on that,” he said.

“For now, its likely that we remain on this path of rising prices, but we won’t see gas prices snap back to normal for some time yet,” he said.

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

• Akron — $2.26, down 0.6 cents a gallon from last week.

• Cleveland — $2.22, down 0.5 cents a gallon from last week.

• West Virginia — $2.13, up 8.7 cents a gallon from last week.