Crude oil prices made minimal gains last week, even as Hurricane Irene threatened the U.S. East coast. Oil prices increased slightly after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said they had the "tools" needed to stimulate the economy and help with long-term economic growth. As a result, crude closed at $85.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange—$3.11 more than the week prior.

"Although Hurricane Irene has not significantly impacted the price of crude oil, the damage left behind could cause prices to rise later in the week," said Jessica Brady, spokesperson, AAA Auto Club South. "So far, reports speculate Irene's impact is less severe than initially expected, but if refineries are forced to shutdown for repairs it could mean an increase in oil and gas prices."

The U.S. East coast is home to 10 oil refineries that produce approximately 1.2 million barrels of oil a day, according to the Energy Department. This accounts for approximately 7 percent of total U.S. output capacity.

"Retail gas prices have remained relatively unchanged for the past couple of weeks, but are likely to increase by a few cents going into the holiday weekend," said Brady.

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.60 per gallon, a 3-cent increase from last week. Florida’s average price of $3.56 remains unchanged, while Georgia’s average price of $3.53 increased 3 cents from last week. Tennessee’s average price of $3.43 is 1 cent more than last week, respectively. Here in Murfreesboro many discounters are offering regular gas at $3.35 per gallon.