BALTIMORE, MD—The national average price of gasoline has fallen for the first time in three weeks, according to GasBuddy. The decline is attributed to a drop in crude oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.

The national average gas price fell 3.0 cents per gallon to $2.98 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. This marks a decrease of 4.9 cents from a month ago and 11.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

“After a few weeks of rising gas prices, the national average has reversed course, declining as we close out 2024,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “2024 will mark the second consecutive year of a decline in the national average.”

The national average diesel price dropped 0.5 cents last week to $3.473 per gallon.

Crude oil prices rose by about 1.4%, settling at $70.55 per barrel on Friday. Earlier in the week, optimism about China’s economic growth supported prices after reports that Chinese authorities plan to issue $411 billion in special treasury bonds in 2025 to boost the economy.

The EIA reported last week that crude oil inventories dropped 4.2 million barrels, the SPR added 300,000 barrels, and domestic oil production decreased by 19,000 barrels per day to 13.585 million barrels.

According to GasBuddy, the most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, unchanged cents from last week. The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.07 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.46 per gallon.

Oklahoma ($2.51), Mississippi ($2.55), and Texas ($2.59) have the lowest average prices. Hawaii, California, and Washington have the highest average prices at $4.47, $4.27, and $3.81, respectively.

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

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

Photo via Pixabay