BALTIMORE, MD—With the summer driving season now underway, the nation’s average price of gasoline has fallen 3.9 cents from a week ago to $3.51 per gallon, 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 price of diesel has fallen 3.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.88 per gallon.

“While the national average drifted lower last week as oil prices cooled off, the drop may be temporary. OPEC+ agreed Sunday to additional production cuts, while Saudi Arabia is going above and beyond and cutting July production. As a result, oil prices are likely to see upward pressure as global supplies, which have remained tight, promise to become even tighter as a result,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“Last time OPEC+ agreed to cut production, it led to a temporary rally in the price of oil, but as global oil demand hasn’t been as strong as expected, the cut failed to hold oil prices up. OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia are likely hoping that the rise in oil prices will stick longer this time, as the Saudi economy relies on oil prices north of $81 per barrel,” De Haan added. “It’s likely that, as a result of the production cut, oil prices could rally this week, pushing gasoline prices higher as early as mid-week. How long any rise in gas prices lasts is up in the air, but I do not yet believe motorists need to be worried. Any rise in average prices should be fairly small, and we’re still extremely unlikely to make a run at record prices anytime soon.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.39 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.29, $3.19, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices. The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.73 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.93 per gallon. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.93), Texas ($3.05), and Louisiana ($3.06). The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.80), Hawaii ($4.71), and Washington ($4.64).

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