Gas Prices Trending Lower Across the U.S., Averaging 3 Cents Less Than Last Week

The cost of filling up is on the decline, a 10-day trend that had the national average at $2.51 a gallon.

Monday’s price is 3 cents lower than a week earlier, according to AAA, which says motorists in 49 states are shelling out less for a gallon of regular gasoline. At 63 percent of gas stations nationwide, gas can be found for $2.50 or less, the motorist club said in a news release.

And, AAA believes the price decline will continue in the weeks ahead.

“AAA expects to see gas prices trend cheaper through the year-end, decreasing as much as 20 cents for some motorists before year-end,” Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson, said in the release.

While the overall trend has prices getting cheaper, falling from 1 and 15 cents across the country, there were two pockets with the reverse in play, as the District of Columbia and Hawaii recorded 1 cent increases, AAA said.

The state that tallied the largest weekly drop was Indiana, where prices fell 15 cents, followed by Ohio’s 12-cent drop, and Illinois and Michigan, both of which experienced 10-cent declines. Prices fell an average of 6 cents in three states, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Missouri, followed by a 4-cent drop in Kansas and Nebraska, and a 3-cent fall in Oklahoma.

Folks filling up in Alabama paid the least, or $2.23 a gallon. It was a penny more, or $2.24 in Mississippi and South Carolina, and $2.26 a gallon in Texas. Gas ran $2.27 in Arkansas and Oklahoma, $2.29 in Tennessee and Missouri, $2.30 in Virginia and $2.31 in Louisiana.

On the West Coast, gas prices were among the most expensive in the country, with a gallon averaging $3.26 in Alaska, $3.24 in Hawaii, $3.19 in California, $2.99 in Washington and $2.84 in Oregon.