The July 4th holiday weekend is just around the corner now, and if you’re planning a car trip, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline will be $2.21, nearly a full dollar below the 10-year average of $3.14 for the holiday weekend.

According to gas price information site GasBuddy, this year marks the first time in the company’s 17-year history that gas prices on the Fourth of July are lower than they were on New Year’s Day. That 12-cent difference is a big deal when you consider that the 10-year average shows July 4 gas prices 47 cents a gallon higher than New Year’s Day prices. In 2008, the difference was $1.04 a gallon.

There is also expected to be wide variation this holiday weekend in gas prices in a given area. GasBuddy reports that the “spread” between the highest and lowest price in a city averages $1.29 a gallon. That means that shopping around could save a driver of an SUV up to $11 on a tankful of gas and passenger car drivers could save up to $6 a gallon. The 10-year average spread is $0.98 a gallon and, this year, the spread is 51 cents a gallon for gas stations in the same state.

GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst, Patrick DeHaan, said:

It’s thrilling to see gas prices falling just in time for the most-traveled summer holiday. Perhaps we can finally get rid of the myth that gas prices go up for the holiday. Most importantly, motorists are getting a well-deserved break at the pump after years of high summer gas prices. This is like Christmas in July, instead of seeing fireworks at the pumps like we saw just a few short years ago.

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