Fuel prices rose last week for the first time in several weeks, but that doesn’t mean gasoline costs are back on the rise for long.
The cost of a gallon of regular unleaded jumped nearly 4 cents up to $2.19, while the national average rose almost 2 cents to $2.57, according to GasBuddy, which tracks fuel pricing nationwide.
“The streak has been broken: for seven straight weeks we saw the national average drop, but the fun has come to an end as oil prices continue to show strength into the last days of 2019 boosting the national average this past week,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
Fuel prices typically fall through most of the winter because of weaker demand and cheaper winter-grade fuels before they start to go back on the upswing in March or April.
With the U.S. benchmark for crude oil hovering just above $62 a barrel on Monday morning, oil prices are at their highest levels since a brief spike in September that was caused by missile attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facilities.
Recent declines in U.S. petroleum inventories have given both oil and fuel prices a boost up, especially after recent weeks saw OPEC deepen their crude production cuts for early 2020 and the U.S. made some progress on easing the trade war with China.
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