BALTIMORE, MD—The national average price of gasoline has fallen below $3 per gallon for the first time in over three years, according to GasBuddy. The decline marks the eighth straight week of decreasing gas prices, bringing the national average to $2.97 per gallon. The decline in global demand and oil prices struggling around $70 per barrel has not had a meaningful impact on raising oil prices. The national average dropped 17.7 cents from a year ago and 8.7 cents from last month.

“The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn’t come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “One would need to count over 1,300 days since we’ve seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015.”

De Haan also predicts that the national average could fall another 10 to 15 cents by Christmas.

The decline in gas prices is reflected across the country, with 35 states and nearly 110,000 stations reporting prices below $3 per gallon. This means that Americans are now putting in just 5.44 minutes of work to buy a gallon of gas, the fewest minutes of work needed (excluding the pandemic) since 2015.

The national average diesel price has dropped 2.3 cents in the past week to $3.491 per gallon. Despite OPEC+’s decision to delay a planned increase in oil production, oil prices remain low. While the group had intended to start easing production cuts in October, they have postponed this decision several times due to weak global demand.

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.79 per gallon, down 20 cents from last week, followed by $2.89, $2.99, $3.19, and $2.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $2.85 per gallon, down 8 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.13 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.42 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.42), Texas ($2.56), Mississippi ($2.56).

The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.48), California ($4.29), and Washington ($3.91).

Biggest weekly changes: Ohio (-15.2¢), Indiana (-14.2¢), Michigan (-13.7¢), Delaware (-9.3¢), Maryland (-8.9¢).

See previous gas price reports here

In and around the Nottingham area, the cheapest gas this week could be found at these locations…

• Bowleys Quarters
• Carney
• Edgewood
• Essex
• Fallston
• Joppa
• Kingsville
• Middle River
• Nottingham
• Overlea/Fullerton
• Parkville
• Perry Hall
• Rosedale
• Rossville
• Towson
• White Marsh

Photo via Pixabay

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.