BALTIMORE, MD—The nation’s average gas price has fallen 1.9 cents per gallon from a week ago to $3.15 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 2.8 cents from a month ago but 97.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.29 per gallon.

“Sagging U.S. gasoline demand along with continued recovery after Hurricane Ida have helped gas prices edge slightly lower in most states from where they were a week ago. But with Tropical Storm Nicholas threatening another key area of refineries in Houston with significant rain, we could see the decline in prices hit the pause button,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “While Nicholas would appear to be a minor storm, we could see a deluge of water – the same issue that caused some significant damage in Ida’s wake to refineries in Louisiana. Combined with the earlier storm, Nicholas could make things more challenging. However, as gasoline demand has now fallen for four straight weeks, there is more breathing room even if some capacity does temporarily go offline. It’s too early to tell, clearly, but motorists should be aware.”

GAS PRICE TRENDS

• The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists was again $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $2.89, $3.09 and $2.79.
• The average cost at the priciest 10% of stations stands at $4.19 per gallon, down from a week ago, while the lowest 10% average $2.69 per gallon, unchanged from a week ago.
• The median U.S. price is $2.99 per gallon, down a penny from last week and about 16 cents lower than the national average.
• The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.77), Texas ($2.79) and Arkansas ($2.82).
• The states with the highest priced states: California ($4.35), Hawaii ($4.02) and Nevada ($3.95).

In the NottinghamMD.com coverage area, the cheapest gas as of Monday was located at Costco (9919 Pulaski Highway) and at Sam’s Club (6410 Petrie Way). The price per gallon for regular gas was $2.75 at each location, unchanged from last week. BJ’s (4201 Wholesale Club Drive) also checks in at $2.77 per gallon.

Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels