Gas prices have stopped falling and are beginning to increase as parts of the country slowly reopen from shutdowns because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

GasBuddy on Monday, May 11 reported that the national average price for a gallon of gas has increased 1.5 cents in a week to $1.75.

“It’s becoming a bit clearer that those 99 cent per gallon gas prices from the COVID-19 pandemic are solidly behind us as gasoline demand rebounds across the country as cities and states slowly reopen. The lowest priced stations in the country will see some upward movement, but most areas will still see declines,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While oil may continue to struggle, a disconnect between low oil prices and rising gasoline prices has emerged at the hands of refineries that have slowed production over the past month to avoid flooding the market with unwanted gasoline. As demand stages a rebound, it remains to be seen how quickly refiners will raise production to meet the locations that have or will begin to re-open in the days and weeks ahead. For now, expect prices to see upward potential – but only in the lower priced states – as we await a boost in gasoline production.”

With the OPEC cut in crude oil production on May 1 and demand has increased, crude oil prices “have rallied significantly in the last week,” according to GasBuddy.