National Average Drops Below $3, First Time in 1,308 Days

For the eighth straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined, falling 3.1 cents compared to a week ago, and stands at $2.97 per gallon today, the lowest level in over three years, according to GasBuddy® data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 8.7 cents from a month ago and is 17.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.3 cents in the last week and stands at $3.491 per gallon.

“The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn’t come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us. One would need to count over 1,300 days since we’ve seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With average gas prices in 35 states and nearly 110,000 stations below $3 per gallon, Americans are putting in just 5.44 minutes of work to buy a gallon, the fewest minutes of work needed (excluding the pandemic) since 2015, when Americans needed to do just 5.25 minutes of work to buy a gallon. The good news is that we’ll likely continue to see additional downward pressure on gas prices, with the national average potentially falling another 10 to 15 cents by Christmas.”

OIL PRICES

After its meeting last week, OPEC+ announced a three-month delay in restoring oil production, a largely expected move, with April now the month that easing back on the production cuts could begin. OPEC had been planning to start easing back on the cuts in October, but with a significant dip in global demand and oil prices struggling, they’ve delayed the restoration several times. Despite OPEC’s efforts, the production cuts have not had a meaningful impact on raising oil prices, which continue to struggle around $70 per barrel. In early Monday trade, WTI crude oil was up $1 per barrel to $68.20, down slightly from last Monday’s $69.01 per barrel start. Brent crude oil was also higher early Monday, rising 94 cents to $72.06 per barrel, down from last Monday’s $72.75 per barrel fetch.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the EIA showed a significant 5.1 million barrel dip in crude oil inventories as refineries cranked up output, boosting utilization rates to 93.3%. The SPR added another 1.4 million barrels and stands 11.3% above last year. Gasoline inventories rose 2.4 million barrels, yet stand 4% below the five-year seasonal average, while distillate inventories rose 3.4 million barrels and stand about 5% below the five-year seasonal average. Implied gasoline demand rose 231,000bpd to 8.74 for the week of Thanksgiving, suggesting poor gasoline demand during one of the peak autumn holidays.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.79 per gallon, down 20 cents from last week, followed by $2.89, $2.99, $3.19, and $2.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $2.85 per gallon, down 8 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.13 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.42 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.42), Texas ($2.56), Mississippi ($2.56).

The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.48), California ($4.29), and Washington ($3.91).

Biggest weekly changes: Ohio (-15.2¢), Indiana (-14.2¢), Michigan (-13.7¢), Delaware (-9.3¢), Maryland (-8.9¢)

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.49 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.39, $3.29, $3.19, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. diesel price is $3.39 per gallon, down 4 cents from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average for diesel.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.30 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.89 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($2.99), Texas ($3.05), and Mississippi ($3.10).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.21), California ($4.78), and Washington ($4.29).

Biggest weekly changes: Delaware (-10.38), Montana (+10.7¢), Maryland (-8.6¢), Colorado (-7.6¢), Michigan (-6.3¢).