For the second consecutive week, gas prices have gone up. The national average has climbed 11.1 cents from last week to $3.78 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. 

In Columbus, the average went up 15 cents from last week to $3.68 per gallon. 

The national average price of diesel has declined 2.9 cents in the last week and stands at $4.86 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy, gas prices could go a little higher before eventually coming back down. 

“Some West Coast states saw prices rise 35 to 55 cents per gallon in the last week as refinery issues continued to impact gasoline supply, which fell to its lowest level in a decade in the region, causing prices to skyrocket,” GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said. “While I’m hopeful there will eventually be relief, prices could go a bit higher before cooling off. In addition, OPEC could decide to cut oil production by a million barrels as the global economy slows down, potentially creating a catalyst that could push gas prices up further.”

Why the rise in prices? 

GasBuddy said crude oil prices were sharply higher Monday as OPEC prepares to meet this week and appears likely to cut oil production as the global economy slows down. 

According to GasBuddy, U.S. fuel inventories and production are down from last week. 

U.S. oil inventories fell 200,000 barrels and oil inventories stand about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline inventories are down 2.4 million barrels and are about 6% below the five-year average. 

GasBuddy said refinery utilization fell to 906% of capacity and domestic U.S. oil production is down 100,000 barrels to 12.1 million barrels a day. 

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U.S. retail gasoline demand is also down by nearly 2% from last week, according to GasBuddy.