Gas prices tick higher as summer heats up

BALTIMORE, MD—The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen 2.5 cents compared to a week ago to $3.49 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

The national average is up 5.2 cents from a month ago but is 5.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.3 cents in the last week and stands at $3.83 per gallon—the same level as one year ago.

“Much like last summer, the nation’s average price of gasoline has remained somewhat stuck in the mid-$3 per gallon range with a mixed bag of prices: small declines in some states and modest increases in others as we wait for what could be the next major trend,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Hurricane Beryl had no major impact on prices, but some drivers in Texas had trouble finding gasoline due to power outages, a situation that continues to improve. For now, we’ll continue to see small price fluctuations as we await news of any hurricane-fueled refinery disruptions or other supply challenges as we head into the busiest weeks of the summer travel season.”

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.49 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.39, $3.59, $3.29, and $3.19 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.52 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.95 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.97), Arkansas ($3.03), Louisiana ($3.08).

The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.69), Hawaii ($4.63), and Washington ($4.21).

In the Baltimore metro area, the cheapest gas this week could be found at the following locations:

Photo via Pixabay