For the first time since April, the national average price of gasoline has inched higher, rising 1.2 cents per gallon to $3.56 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 down 6.5 cents from a month ago but is 1.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.82 per gallon—11 cents lower than one year ago.
“With the summer driving season now underway, average gas prices have seen ups in some areas and downs in others. Most states are seeing prices slightly below their 2024 peak thus far, with some refinery issues in the Great Lakes weighing on prices there, while other areas, like the West Coast, have seen notable relief with more coming,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “June tends to be a month of smooth sailing, where we see gas prices decline in most areas, and that’s a trend that looks the most likely for drivers, barring unexpected refinery snags or a tropical storm developing. The national average over Memorial Day was down ever so slightly compared to last year—after adjusting for inflation, prices were down about 10 cents per gallon. Not a terrible way to kick off summer!”
OIL PRICES
Ahead of the June 2 OPEC meeting, which has been moved to a virtual meeting, oil prices have rallied with expectations that OPEC will officially extend their oil production cuts into the third quarter. The start of the U.S. summer driving season is seen as helping inspire a bit of bullishness that gasoline demand will charge higher; a busy hurricane season will also impact production. In early Tuesday trade, a barrel of WTI crude oil was up $1.39 to $79.11 per barrel, down slightly from last Monday’s $79.56 per barrel start. Brent crude was up 32 cents to $83.42 per barrel in early Tuesday trade, down slightly from last Tuesday’s $83.56 per barrel start.
OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the EIA showed a 1.8-million-barrel rise in oil inventories, which stand about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year, while gasoline inventories fell some 900,000 barrels and are just 2% below the five-year average. Distillate inventories rose 400,000 barrels but remain about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year. Refinery utilization continued to rise, reaching 91.7% last week, the highest level in months as maintenance season is nearly complete. Implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail consumption, spiked 439,000 barrels to 9.32 million per day—not a surprise as gas stations fill their large underground storage tanks ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a rise of 1.7% for the week ending May 25 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 2.4% in PADD 1, rose 1.1% in PADD 2, rose 3.0% in PADD 3, fell 0.6% in PADD 4, and fell 1.2% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 9.030 million barrels per day for the week ending May 25.
GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.49 per gallon, unchanged 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 $3.45 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 11 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.90 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.92 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($3.00), Oklahoma ($3.03), Arkansas ($3.05).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($5.05), Hawaii ($4.71), and Washington ($4.49).
DIESEL PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.79, $3.69, $3.89, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.75 per gallon, down 4 cents from last week and about 7 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.79 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.20 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.32), Texas ($3.37), and South Dakota ($3.48).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.48), California ($5.17), and Washington ($4.52).
