The U.S. average price of gasoline ($3.03/gal) continues its slide to levels last seen in December 2010… and today, more than one-half of the nation’s gas stations offer regular gasoline at prices below $3 per gallon.
GasBuddy reports that of more than 133,000 gas stations from which it gathers retail price data via crowd-sourcing, the ‘tipping point’ in this year’s autumn price decline was reached over the weekend when the number of stations selling gas below $3 climbed to 50% of all retailers across the U.S. The last time 50% of the nation’s fuel retailers were priced below $3 was Dec. 28, 2010.
“It may seem difficult to believe but gasoline below $3 per gallon can now be found at stations in 47 states,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “With multiple factors pushing retail prices lower in most parts of the country, we expect we’ll see the national average fall below $3/gal before Halloween.”
Today there are 19 states where the average price of gas is under $3 per gal. (See accompanying map for details.) The states with the lowest average prices are: SC, $2.76; TN, $2.78; MS, $2.79; TX, $2.81 and VA, $2.82. Unfortunately, the highest gas prices in the U.S. remain mostly in states with the highest combined federal, state and local taxes: HI, $4.04; AK, $3.71; NY, $3.39; CA, $3.38; and CT, $3.35.
The lowest priced metro area in the U.S. today is Chattanooga, TN where the average today is $2.66. The lowest priced gas in the entire country is found at an Exxon in Memphis, TN where the price is $2.39/gal.
“Global crude prices continue to decline and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has slipped below $80 per barrel,” added Gregg Laskoski, another GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst. “But, all good things come to an end… EPA mandates for ‘summer blend’ gas ensure that prices will climb back up in the new year.”
The GasBuddy media site (http://media.gasbuddy.com) lets users track the average for the U.S. and Canada as well as nearly 450 metropolitan areas in the United States and over 100 cities in Canada. Prices are frozen each morning to provide a daily price of record and also tick throughout the day so you can monitor market moves at various times of the day.
