Texas gasoline pump prices rose last week while national prices dipped.

Blame it on the “Big D” — and that means Dallas.

GasBuddy, a consumer web site, reported Monday that the price of regular gasoline rose at the pump in Texas by 1.5 cents per gallon of regular; nationally, the average price of regular dropped 3.5 cents per gallon to $2.76.

In Jefferson County, the average price on Monday morning was $2.48.

“Texas prices rose on average due to a decent-sized hike in Dallas and Fort Worth — two cities that both see prices ‘cycle’ — that is, they fall until stations lose money, then hike way up,” Patrick DeHaan, a petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, told The Port Arthur News in an email. “Both areas were up 9 cents per gallon vs. a week ago, pulling Texas’ average higher as well.

“I expect that this week the Texas average will move more in line with the national movement.”

In Port Arthur, Murphy USA at $2.35 a gallon had the lowest price Monday morning. Raceway was selling at $2.40 a gallon.

GasBuddy’s surveys 13,114 Texas retail gas outlets every day. Gas prices in Texas are 15.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago, yet stand 11.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.25 Monday morning while the most expensive was $3.19. The cheapest price in the country was $2.06 Monday, while the most expensive was $5.49.

DeHaan said, “Oil largely ignored Iran’s attempt to make waves in the Strait of Hormuz last Friday but we may see some impacts in the week ahead, though over the weekend some behind the scenes signs emerged that some parties were trying to de-escalate the rising tensions. Motorists will likely face a mixed bag at the pump in the week ahead.