(NAFB) – The nation’s average gas price continues its climb, up 0.5 cents per gallon from a week ago to $3.13 per gallon.

The national average now stands five cents higher than a month ago and 93.7 cents higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel increased 1.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.25 per gallon. However, GasBuddy experts say gas prices should stabilize in the weeks to come.

GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan says, “with U.S. gasoline demand falling slightly last week, we may have already seen peak consumption over the July 4 holiday.”

Crude oil prices may test the $80 benchmark, but are trading around $73 to $75 to start the week. U.S. oil inventories plummeted by nearly seven million barrels, while gasoline also saw a large drop of 6.1 million barrels.

De Haan adds, “we’re potentially only 4-6 weeks away from gas prices beginning a seasonal decline that we’re likely all eagerly awaiting.”