Gas Prices Tumble for Fourth Straight Week

The national average price for a gallon of regular gas dropped by 3.5 cents last week to $2.42, according to industry analysts at GasBuddy. The drop continues a four-week streak of falling pump prices. At the beginning of January, gas cost $2.57 a gallon.

Crude oil traded around $50.10 a barrel early Monday morning, down about 0.5% from Friday’s closing price of $50.32. Over the past month, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude for immediate delivery has plunged by about $8.60 a barrel (about 15%). The national average price of gasoline is at its lowest level since February 28 of last year.

GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan, commented, “The nation’s gas prices continue to fall to fresh lows as coronavirus fears continue to put a choke-hold on oil prices, leading to the fourth straight weekly decline in the national average. All but a handful of states saw their averages decline over the last seven days, leading to plenty of smiling faces, but especially in the 21 states where at least one station is offering gasoline under $2 per gallon. It’s impressive that in those 21 states, a total of over 10,000 stations are offering such low prices.”

DeHaan added, “With continued worries of economic slowdown due to the spread of coronavirus, I don’t think the impact to oil is done yet, and for now, motorists are poised to see another week of falling gas prices.”

The week’s median price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.30, down five cents week over week. The average price at the 10% of gas stations charging the most for gas was $3.45, four cents higher week over week, while the average at the 10% charging the least fell by four cents to $1.94. The most common price across the country was $2.29 a gallon.

The five states where drivers are paying the most for gas are Hawaii ($3.87 a gallon), California ($3.54), Washington ($2.99), Nevada ($2.97) and Oregon ($2.91). Alaska is the only other state currently reporting a price of more than $2.75 a gallon.

The five states where gas is cheapest are Missouri ($2.04), Mississippi ($2.09), Louisiana ($2.09), Texas ($2.10) and Oklahoma ($2.12).

Compared to last month, the national average is down nearly 17 cents per gallon, and compared to last year, prices are up about almost 14 cents. See how much gas cost the year you were born.