The retail price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States is the highest so far for the year, but the lowest for this date since 2009, AAA said.
Tuesday's national average price of $2.66 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is about 4 cents, or about 1.5 percent, higher than this time last week. Motor club AAA noted the national average price has increased nearly every day for a month to reach the highest level of the year.
"However, relatively low crude costs continue to translate to significant savings at the pump for consumers," the motor club said. "[The] national average is about a dollar less than a year ago and is at the cheapest level for this date since 2009."
AAA said regional refinery issues and movements in the crude oil market are behind much of the price at the pump. The motor club said that, while oil prices have recovered from early 2015 lows below the $50 mark, a market trending toward the supply side is acting as a ceiling on oil, and therefore gasoline, prices.
More than 60 percent of the price at the pump is a reflection of crude oil prices.
Patrick DeHaan, a petroleum analyst with price-watcher GasBuddy.com, said the steady rise for gasoline prices may be coming to an end.
"Some good news if you've been hoping there's an end in sight to the recent surge in gasoline prices: oil prices have taken a time out from their recent increases, and have begun declining for the time being, paving the way for a drop in the national average in the week ahead," he wrote in a Monday note.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects the national average price to be around $2.45 per gallon for the summer driving season, which runs from April through September.
The national average price for Tuesday is $1 less than this date in 2014.
