BALTIMORE, MD—For the first time in two weeks, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined, falling 4.2 cents from a week ago to $3.40 per gallon this week, 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 up 4.3 cents from a month ago but 82.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 5.6 cents in the last week and stands at $4.25 per gallon, 82.4 cents lower than one year ago.

“The broad concern over recent failures of the U.S. and global banking system has put enough downward pressure on oil prices that we saw a reprieve in rising gasoline prices in the national average last week. But, it may be temporary in nature, and is unlikely to be a long lasting trend,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“While California and areas of the West Coast saw some moderation in price, supply challenges amidst the transition to summer gasoline have led to sharp price increases in Arizona, and other markets saw varying impacts at the gas pump over the last week,” De Haan added. “Should the outlook for the banking sector improve, we could again see gasoline prices race higher, while continued or additional distress could raise the possibility of a broader economic slowdown, keeping gasoline prices in check. Overall, there are a lot of possibilities.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.19 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.09, $3.49, and $2.99 rounding out the top five most common prices.  The median U.S. gas price is $3.29 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 11 cents lower than the national average.  The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.59 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.87 per gallon.  The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.90), Mississippi ($2.96), and Texas ($3.00).  The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.80), California ($4.79), and Nevada ($4.23).

See previous gas price reports here

In the Baltimore metro area, the cheapest gas this week could be found at the following locations:

Photo via Pixabay