Gas Prices Stop Rising

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped nearly two cents in the past week to $2.204. The most common price is $2.099, and the average difference between the highest and lowest prices is $1.088. One year ago a gallon of regular gas averaged $2.667 in the United States.

According to GasBuddy, gasoline still averages less than $2 a gallon in seven states: Oklahoma ($1.918), Kansas ($1.97), Missouri ($1.975), Arkansas ($1.987), Louisiana ($1.992), Texas (1.99) and South Carolina ($1.996). Only California ($2.801) and Hawaii ($2.642) posted average prices above $2.50 a gallon.

Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy said:

It would be a mistake to read too much into the temporary ‘plateau’ for fuel prices that’s evident right now. Prices at the pump should remain fairly flat this week, particularly with thunderstorms and flash flooding reducing demand as that weather is forecast to move today through Wednesday across many of the Central Plains and Southern states.”

Year-to-date we still see gasoline demand up significantly and that’s not likely to change any time soon. Since February retail gasoline has consistently mirrored the movement of WTI crude oil, with each increase followed by a short plateau and that appears to be where we are today.

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The five metro areas where gas is cheapest are Kansas City, Mo., ($1.887); Oklahoma City ($1.895), Tulsa ($1.906), Amarillo ($1927) and Topeka ($1.931). Of the 20 cities where gas prices are highest, 17 are in California. The country’s most expensive gas is selling for $2.967 a gallon in San Francisco.

Among U.S. gas stations, just 10% are selling gas for $2.50 or more, while 32% are selling gas for $2.25 to $2.49 a gallon and more than 21% are selling gas at less than $2.00 a gallon.