Average retail gasoline prices in the Nashville area rose 11 cents during the past week, averaging $3.41 per gallon as of Sunday, according to gasoline price website NashvilleGasPrices.com.

This compares with the national average of $3.60, a rise of 9.3 cents.

Nashville prices yesterday were 17 cents per gallon lower than they were on the same day one year ago and 28.1 cents per gallon higher than they were four weeks ago. The national average has increased 19.1 cents per gallon during the last four weeks and stands 6.5 cents per gallon lower than on this day one year ago.

"Watching the national average last week, one might have expected war broke out in the Middle East or a major hurricane shutting down production — neither of which happened yet gasoline prices spiked," GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said in a release. "The scary thought is what may happen to gasoline prices should one of the two actually take place. The Great Lakes was hosed with refinery issues and a major oil pipeline issue. And while other regions saw increases, they paled in comparison to those in the Great Lakes states. The good news for motorists is that the end to the summer driving season and change to winter-spec fuel is in view, which will likely put downward pressure on gasoline prices."

GasBuddy operates NashvilleGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at approximately 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.