Falling Gas Prices Add to Holiday Cheer

By Paul Ausick Published Dec 23, 12:20PM EST

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Falling Gas Prices Add to Holiday Cheer — © Karimala / Getty Images

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline decreased by 2.4 cents per gallon last week to $2.53, according to industry analysts at GasBuddy. The drop marks the seventh consecutive week of falling pump prices. The price fell by three cents in the prior week, the largest amount in the current seven-month string.

Crude oil traded around $60.30 a barrel early Monday morning, down about 0.3% from Friday’s closing price of $60.447. Over the past month, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for immediate delivery has risen by about $2.20 a barrel (about 3.7%). Last Thursday’s closing price was the highest since mid-September.

GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan, commented, “With motorists preparing to hit the road to celebrate Christmas with loved ones, the national average has seen its seventh weekly decline, falling to a fresh low since March.” Some cities are already seeing gas prices below $2 a gallon.

DeHaan added, “Closing out 2019 will likely see some additional downward momentum, but the next million-dollar question motorists are beginning to ask: what will the new decade bring to the pump? What’s 2020 going to look like? GasBuddy is preparing to answer those questions just in time for the New Year, but for now, motorists need not worry, and should continue to enjoy affordable gasoline prices in nearly all states- and that’s a terrific end to 2019 as well.”

The week’s median price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.43, unchanged week over week. The average price at the 10% of gas stations charging the most for gas was $3.54, down three cents a gallon, while the average at the 10% charging the least remained at $2.10, down a penny week over week. The most common price across the country was $2.39 a gallon, unchanged week over week.

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The five states where drivers are paying the most for gas are Hawaii ($3.82), California ($3.58), Nevada ($3.18), Washington ($3.09) and Alaska ($3.03). No other state is currently reporting a price of more than $3 a gallon.

The five states where gas is cheapest are Missouri ($2.18), Mississippi ($2.19), Louisiana ($2.22), Texas ($2.22) and Oklahoma ($2.22).

Compared to last month, the national average is down 5.6 cents per gallon, and compared to last year, prices are up about 22.5 cents. See how much gas cost the year you were born.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.