BALTIMORE, MD—For the fifth straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has dropped, falling 5.2 cents from a week ago to $3.50 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 down 33.2 cents from a month ago and 26.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 3.8 cents in the last week and stands at $4.48 per gallon, 82 cents lower than one year ago.

“As air temperatures trend downward as we progress into fall, gasoline prices have seen another week of their own seasonal fall,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The national average is on the cusp of falling to the lowest level since March, something that could happen this week.”

“Demand for gasoline continues to weaken as we get closer to seeing the first snow flurries fly across some areas of the country, and against the backdrop of winter, there isn’t as much desire to get out,” De Haan added. “Coupled with cheaper winter gasoline and refinery issues that have faded into the rearview thanks to the drop in demand, gasoline prices have been weakening even as oil prices have climbed. This puts pressure on refineries as margins flatten and gasoline becomes the unwanted byproduct of producing other products like diesel and jet fuel, which command a higher price than gasoline. However, there’s only so much refineries can do, because they must produce gasoline in high quantities to get those premium barrels. For now, that trend will likely mean further declines in the weeks ahead, before prices bottom out between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.29 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $2.99, $3.19, $3.09, and $3.39 rounding out the top five most common prices. The median U.S. gas price is $3.29 per gallon, down 5 cents from last week and about 21 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $5.22 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.85 per gallon. The states with the lowest average prices: Georgia ($2.97), Mississippi ($2.99), and Texas ($3.01). The states with the highest average prices: California ($5.42), Hawaii ($4.77), and Washington ($4.74).

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