BALTIMORE, MD—After inching higher last week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has seen a slight dip, falling 1.4 cents from a week ago to $3.56 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 has now been stuck between $3.50 and $3.60 every day since April 23. The national average price of diesel has fallen 3.7 cents in the last week and stands at $3.85 per gallon.

“It has been a quiet week for the national average, with little overall movement in average gas prices nationally even as oil prices have been a bit unstable. Some states have seen minor increases while others have seen decreases, and the mixed bag is likely to continue for the time being with oil prices a bit all over the place,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“While gasoline demand continues to inch up, we could see additional pressure on pump prices, while the price of diesel continues to see downward movement,” De Haan added. “While the uncertainty over the direction of the economy is a major player in preventing oil’s rise, inventories of oil and gasoline do remain tight, preventing much additional downward movement as well. We’ll have to see which of those factors emerges as a winner to predict when the next large movement in prices could be. We’re also seeing more tropical activity in the Atlantic that could pose challenges in the weeks ahead as hurricane season ramps up.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.49 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.39, $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 8 cents from last week and about 17 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.82 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.96 per gallon. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.99), Texas ($3.11), and South Carolina ($3.12). The states with the highest average prices: Washington ($4.85), California ($4.83), and Hawaii ($4.68).

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