
The decline is expected to continue according to analysts at GasBuddy. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restrictions on summer-grade gasoline expire in the next couple of days and that permits local gas stations to purchase cheaper winter-grade fuel. The impact from the change should range between 15 and 25 cents per gallon less out of a motorist’s pocket.
The state with the lowest price per gallon is South Carolina, where gas averages $1.93. Mississippi’s average price per gallon is $1.98 and Alabama’s is $1.99. Those are the only three states where gasoline prices average less than $2 a gallon.
The other seven states that round out the top 10 for cheap gasoline are Louisiana and Tennessee with an average price of $2.04 per gallon, Arkansas at $2.06, New Jersey and Virginia at $2.08 and Oklahoma and Missouri with $2.09.
The five states where gasoline prices have fallen the most compared with last year are Indiana and Hawaii, down $1.28 per gallon; Michigan, down $1.24; Connecticut, down $1.20; and Kentucky, down $1.19.
The five states where the year-over-year price per gallon has fallen the least are Nevada (down $0.57), California (down $0.61), Alaska (down $0.66), New Mexico (down $0.78) and Utah (down $0.79). According to GasBuddy, refinery issues have kept West Coast prices relatively high, and refinery maintenance, which typically leads to slight price increases, already has begun in the Rocky Mountain states.
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