If you're seeing a lot more smiles at the gas station, there's a reason for that. Not since 2021 has it been such a great time to fill up at the pump! Gas prices are the lowest they've been more than three years.
Gas Buddy reports that last week, national average prices dipped below $3/a gallon for the first time since 2021, at $2.999 per gallon. However, the American Automobile Association's national average data hasn't dipped below the $3 mark yet. As of today, Dec. 12, it's $3.026, five cents less than a month ago and 11 cents less than a year ago.
“I’d like to say that the national average will fall under $3 soon, but now I’m not so confident,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “It appears to be stuck despite low demand and cheaper oil. But 31 states already have an average below $3. ”
Meanwhile over at GasBuddy, researchers are more optimistic and say prices could drop even lower during the holidays before starting their annual climb next spring. However, GasBuddy adds that a shift in economic policies under the incoming Trump administration could impact the typical seasonal lift.
“We’ve seen a few runs at $2.99 per gallon, but finally, after trying to break the barrier in late 2022 and 2023, we finally did it in 2024. This is a sign that gasoline prices are slowly continuing to normalize after the massive shockwaves brought on by Covid,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “We’re likely to enjoy these prices on and off over the holidays, and our early projection for 2025 is that we could see the national average stick around the $3 per gallon level through winter and then again perhaps in late 2025. I’m optimistic that the good news at the pump will continue into 2025, though we have yet to fully see how a shift in administration could impact prices.”
The past few years haven't been great for gas prices. In 2022, prices started going up following COVID-related declines in 2021. Gas Buddy cites reasons for this as faster economic growth, sharply higher demand for gasoline, Russia’s war on Ukraine, limited U.S. refining capacity. One factor that's currently helping pump prices are higher interest rates. Gas Buddy says they've cooled growth, allowing gasoline prices to return to a level not witnessed in years.
AAA lists the nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets as Hawaii ($4.56), California ($4.34), Washington ($3.94), Nevada ($3.62), Oregon ($3.48), Alaska ($3.39), Pennsylvania ($3.25), Illinois ($3.23), Washington, DC ($3.22), and Arizona ($3.14).
The top 10 most least gasoline markets are Oklahoma ($2.52), Texas ($2.57), Mississippi ($2.59), Arkansas ($2.60), Tennessee ($2.64), Kansas ($2.66), Missouri ($2.66), Louisiana ($2.69), Iowa ($2.69), and Alabama ($2.71).
- For a gas price map from Gas Buddy click here.
- For daily national and state fuel prices average from AAA click here.
Photo credit: f.t.Photographer/Shutterstock.com.