Despite cautious forecasts that gas prices would moderate after Labor Day, pump costs continue to go up. Here's the latest from gasbuddy.com, which reports that Asheville prices have risen 2.7 cents in the past week.

Press release

Asheville, September 17- Average retail gasoline prices in Asheville have risen 2.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.83/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has increased 2.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.86/g, according to gasoline price website AshevilleGasPrices.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Asheville during the past week, prices yesterday were 30.5 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 21.2 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 15.8 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 24.9 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

"The national average continues to hover near its higher ever September level," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "As we push deeper into September, the more optimistic I am that these high prices will begin to come down slightly, but with the recently announced QE3, I'm a bit concerned that prices won't moderate as much as previously expected as the dollar weakens, leading me to believe 2012 will have featured the highest yearly average ever," DeHaan said.

About AshevilleGasPrices.com

GasBuddy operates AshevilleGasPrices.com and over 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at over 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada. In addition, GasBuddy offers a free smartphone app which has been downloaded over 20 million times to help motorists find gasoline prices in their area.