State gas prices drop; nationwide, they climb

Average gasoline prices in Maryland have fallen 1.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.05 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 2,167 stations in Maryland. Prices in Maryland are 23.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 55.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.55 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Maryland was priced at $2.77 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $4.19 per gallon, a difference of $1.42 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.16 per gallon today. The national average is down 18.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 67.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

Historical gasoline prices in Maryland and the national average going back 10 years:

September 23, 2023: $3.60 per gallon (U.S. Average: $3.83 per gallon)September 23, 2022: $3.43 per gallon (U.S. Average: $3.67 per gallon)September 23, 2021: $3.09 per gallon (U.S. Average: $3.18 per gallon)September 23, 2020: $2.22 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.19 per gallon)September 23, 2019: $2.59 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.66 per gallon)September 23, 2018: $2.80 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.83 per gallon)September 23, 2017: $2.56 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.56 per gallon)September 23, 2016: $2.26 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.21 per gallon)September 23, 2015: $2.25 per gallon (U.S. Average: $2.28 per gallon)September 23, 2014: $3.31 per gallon (U.S. Average: $3.33 per gallon)

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

Baltimore: $3.01 per gallon, down 0.7 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.01 per gallon.Washington, D.C.: $3.21 per gallon, down 13.0 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.34 per gallon.Hagerstown: $3.02 per gallon, down 0.4 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.03 per gallon.

“With oil prices jumping after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a larger-than-expected half percent, we’ve seen some states where gas prices have inched back up, while others have continued to decline. Most of these increases should be temporary with declines returning in the days and weeks ahead,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “In addition, for California and areas of Nevada and western Arizona, areas that had been left out of the recent drops, refinery issues are improving and gas prices should start moving lower. While the future looks good for gas prices to continue trending lower for most in the weeks ahead, oil’s jump may mute the downside potential just a bit — for now.”