Gasoline prices in the U.S. ticked higher today, according to the AAA, though overall, national averages are down by around $1 from this time last year, according to GasBuddy.
“Overall, gasoline prices continue to see significant relief from year-ago levels,” GasBuddy head petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan, said on Monday, noting that while some states have seen higher prices due to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices rebounding to over $70 from the mid-60s range earlier this month, “the natural average has seen little change as a result”.
The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. rose 0.4 cents per gallon, sitting at $3.51 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy estimates and $3.535 according to AAA estimates.
The Monday national average is nearly $1 lower than this time last year when AAA put the national average at $4.47.
Going forward, De Haan sees prices at the pump falling further.
“We’re likely to soon see gasoline prices slip to their largest year on year deficit since Covid hit, when prices fell over $1 per gallon from 2019- so the relief at the pump as been significant, and even though the gas price decline hit pause last week, it’s looking more likely that barring a major hurricane or series of refinery outages, the national average may not end up hitting the $4 per gallon mark- something that will make most motorists very happy,” he said.
Over the weekend, AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross noted: “Increasing demand for gasoline would usually drive pump prices higher, but the cost for oil has remained low lately, so drivers should benefit from stable pump prices as Memorial Day draws near.”