The national average price for a gallon of regular gas decreased again on Monday, falling to $4.042, according to AAA. It was the seventh straight day the national average price of a gallon of regular gas has dropped. Fuel costs had been rising daily ever since February due to the military conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
Gas prices dropped over five cents from last Thursday, when a gallon of regular gas cost $4.093. Fuel costs are also lower than a week ago, when a gallon of regular gas was $4.125, according to AAA. The last seven days mark the first time that the national average price for a gallon of gas has dropped since January. It is also the first time the national average price for a gallon of regular gas has been lower than the previous week since the winter.
Despite recent drops, gas prices are still higher than a month ago, though the gap is narrowing. A month ago, the average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. was $3.912, a current difference of only 13 cents per gallon. It is one of the smaller differences between gas prices in the past month since March.
Since gas hit $2.79 per gallon on Jan. 12, a five-year low, prices have gradually increased. Initially, winter weather nationwide was blamed for rising fuel costs, as snowstorms in January and February disrupted oil refinery operations and production. However, fuel prices began to soar after the Iran war began in late February. During the first week of March, a gallon of regular gas increased to $2.98. By March 31, the national average price of regular gas had risen to $4.02 per gallon.
Monday’s gas price decrease came the day after Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned that it could be a while before the national average price for regular gas is near $3 per gallon.
“I don’t know,” Wright said during a Sunday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “That could happen later this year. That might not happen until next year. But prices have likely peaked.”
Last week, Wright said he anticipated gas prices rising through the summer, with not much relief in sight before the November midterm elections. Wright’s concerns contrasted with those of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who predicted that the country would have a national average for regular gas at $3 per gallon sometime over the summer.
“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20 and September 20, we can have $3 gas again,” Bessent said last Wednesday.
“We’ll see,” he added. “But I think over the summer we could see gas prices starting with a three sooner rather than later.”
WRIGHT SAYS GAS PRICES MAY NOT FALL TO $3 A GALLON UNTIL 2027
Despite recent increases and overall fluctuations in the national average gas price, costs vary by region. The most expensive gas prices in the nation are in the western United States. The most affordable gas prices are found in the Midwest and the Great Plains states.
California remains the state with the highest statewide average gas price in the country, at $5.837 per gallon. This is followed by Hawaii at $5.67 per gallon. Next is Washington state at $5.385, and then Oregon at $4.985. Nevada rounds out the five most expensive gas prices at $4.938 per gallon.
Oklahoma continues to have the lowest gas prices in the country, at $3.376 per gallon. This is followed by Kansas at $3.473 per gallon. Iowa moved up to third place in states with the cheapest gas in the country, with a statewide average of $3.545 per gallon. Then there is Nebraska at $3.553 per gallon, followed by Arkansas at $3.589 per gallon.
