Gasoline is not cheap anymore. Since the national average for a gallon of regular dropped below $1.75, it has risen to $2.08. One marker of gas prices is where the lowest price for a gallon at locations nationwide stands. With the exception of four gas stations, the lowest priced gas in America has gone above $1.50.
Three of the four stations with the lowest priced gas are anomalies. Most of the low gas prices are at locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, near huge oil deposits and the block of refineries on the Gulf of Mexico south of Houston. The anomalies are stations where regular is priced at $1.49 in South Carolina, Georgia and Iowa.
Twenty of the stations among the 50 with the lowest gas prices are in Texas, with prices ranging from $1.55 to $1.61. Nine are in Oklahoma, according to GasBuddy.
The fact that gas prices are low in Louisiana should be no surprise, as the state, along with Oklahoma, has the lowest prices by state average at $1.85. Texas is fifth lowest at $1.88. By contrast, the highest price in any state is California at $2.78, which is 93% above the location with the lowest price.
Obviously, the largest factor that drives gas prices up or down is the price of oil. It trades above $41, compared to a 52-week low of $29.85. There are rumors that some of the largest oil-producing nations will cut production. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia says it will not. Furthermore, gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China has dropped to levels not posted since the Great Recession, and the IMF recently downgraded its global GDP forecast.
Among the other critical elements that affect gas prices are taxes and levies, which are widely different from state to state. According to the American Petroleum Institute, the average state gas tax is $0.48. In Texas, the figure is $0.38 and in Oklahoma $0.35.
Gas prices probably will continue to rise, but the cheapest gas by state still will be in Oklahoma and Texas.
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