For the third straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has climbed, rising 5 cents from a week ago to $3.45 per gallon on July 1, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.
The national average is down 6 cents from a month ago and is 5.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a drop of 1.1% for the week ending June 29, according to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy fuel card.
“As we approach July 4 later this week, motorists have seen the national average price of gasoline inch up ever so slightly for the third straight week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Dallas-based GasBuddy.
Increases have been tame, he said, but with oil prices continuing to hold above $80 per barrel, the national average could climb slightly.
Other areas that see price cycling saw prices shoot up early in the week, but those areas are now starting to see prices fall back down, he said.
“For many Americans hitting the road for the July 4 holiday, prices in most areas are very comparable to what we saw last July 4,” De Haan said. “However, with Hurricane Beryl now formed in the Caribbean, we’re reminded that gas prices could experience some jolts in the second half of the summer should a storm threaten refining capacity in Texas or Louisiana.”
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.29 per gallon, unchanged from last week.
The states with the lowest average prices are Mississippi ($2.90), Louisiana ($2.94) and Oklahoma ($3).The states with the highest average prices are California ($4.73), Hawaii ($4.65) and Washington ($4.26).
Diesel
The national average price of diesel has risen 1.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.77 per gallon—4 cents lower than one year ago.
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.69 per gallon, unchanged from last week.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.35), Texas ($3.36), and South Dakota ($3.40). The states with the highest average diesel prices include Hawaii ($5.45), California ($5.06) and Washington ($4.45).
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