BALTIMORE, MD—For the second straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has fallen, posting a decline of 3.5 cents from a week ago to $3.77 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 2.8 cents from a month ago and 1.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.7 cents in the last week and stands at $4.52 per gallon, 36.2 cents lower than one year ago.

“While this week saw average gasoline prices moving higher again in the West, most of the nation saw a noticeable decline in gasoline prices,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “However, with California allowing the transition to winter gasoline to begin immediately, easing supply concerns, we’re likely to see nearly the entire country see gasoline prices trend lower in the week ahead.”

“You could say Christmas is coming early: California should quickly see prices fall back below $6, and once all refinery snags are addressed and maintenance complete, I would not be surprised to see prices even fall below $5 there later this year,” De Haan added. “Areas of Arizona, Las Vegas, and Reno could fall back below $4 by the end of the year as well. While the trend is likely to be a strong one to the downside, small issues here and there could temporarily delay the onset of lower prices, but for now, motorists need not be in any rush: lower gas prices are on the way for every U.S. state in the weeks ahead.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.39 per gallon, down 20 cents from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.59, $3.29, and $3.79 rounding out the top five most common prices. The median U.S. gas price is $3.54 per gallon, down 5 cents from last week and about 23 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $5.75 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.11 per gallon. The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($3.19), Georgia ($3.20), and South Carolina ($3.26). The states with the highest average prices: California ($6.02), Nevada ($5.11), and Washington ($5.09).

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