GILLETTE, Wyo. — Despite a small uptick in the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline last week, Campbell County’s average has continued to fall for months. It fell again last week, down another 3 cents, as the national average dropped 1.6 cents.
That brought the national average to $3.06 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports. The national average is down 17.3 cents from a month ago and 12.6 cents from a year ago.
The national average price of diesel has fallen 4.5 cents in the last week to stand at $3.96 per gallon — 71 cents lower than one year ago.
“After a brief hiatus, the national average has moved off its recent high, again falling closer to the $3 per gallon mark, setting up a potential second attempt at slipping below $2.99 for the first time since 2021,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While gas prices have risen in some areas, such as California after refinery snags emerged, other states have returned to declines. Illinois is one such example, falling below $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021. The Great Lakes and Gulf Coast offer some of the nation’s lowest gas prices, with the window of opportunity holding for the next few weeks to potentially re-test some of the levels seen a few weeks ago.
“The good news continues for average diesel prices, which slipped below $4 per gallon again and stand at their lowest level since the summer.”
Today, AAA reported the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at $3.10 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week. Wyoming’s average is $2.80, down 6 cents from a week ago. Campbell County’s average of $2.49 is the second cheapest in the state, coming in 23 cents higher than the cheapest in Natrona County at $2.26, according to AAA.
The cheapest fuel reported in Campbell County on Monday was $2.36 at Good 2 Go, 1616 E. Highway 14-16, followed by $2.37 at M.G. Oil Co., 502 El Camino Road, according to GasBuddy’s report.
Also included in GasBuddy’s report Monday:
OIL PRICES
Crude oil prices were up sharply in the first trading session of 2024, as the U.S. waged an attack on Houthi militants, downing three Houthi ships from a U.S. military helicopter. Forecasts projecting a rise in Chinese demand for its February Lunar New Year may have been boosting optimism and oil prices in early trade as well. As of press time, a barrel of WTI crude was up $1.74 to $73.39 per barrel, down slightly from last Tuesday’s $75.24 per barrel fetch. Brent crude was also up $1.75 per barrel to $78.78, down from $80.74 per barrel last Tuesday.OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a large 6.9-million-barrel decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories, while the SPR rose 800,000 barrels and domestic crude oil production held at a record high of 13.3 million barrels per day. On the refined side, gasoline inventories dipped 0.6 million barrels and distillates picked up 0.8 million barrels, while implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail consumption, rose 439,000 bpd to 9.17 million barrels per day. Refinery output increased 0.9 percentage points to 93.3%, with gasoline production holding at 10 million barrels per day.FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a decrease of 12.0% for the week ending December 30 (Sun-Sat), likely as driving was greatly reduced between holidays. Broken down by PADD region, demand fell 12.8% in PADD 1, fell 13.3% in PADD 2, fell 9.4% in PADD 3, fell 10.2% in PADD 4, and fell 9.4% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 7.81 million barrels per day.GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $2.79, $2.89, $2.69, and $3.09 rounding out the top five most common prices.The median U.S. gas price is $2.89 per gallon, down 6 cents from last week and about 17 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.44 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.49 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.59), Mississippi ($2.62), and Arkansas ($2.63).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.64), Hawaii ($4.55), and Washington ($4.05).
DIESEL PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.89, $3.79, $3.69, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.The median U.S. diesel price is $3.89 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 7 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.09 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.28 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.44), Oklahoma ($3.48), and Louisiana ($3.54).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.57), California ($5.43), and Washington ($4.89).
GasBuddy
