Gasoline Prices Drop Slightly During Week
Average gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 2.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.95/gallon on Monday, Dec. 25, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 615 stations in Montana. Prices in Montana are 24.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 0.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 0.6 cents in the last week and stands at $4 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $2.79/g on Sunday, Dec. 24, while the most expensive was $3.09/g, a difference of 30.0 cents per gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.07/g Monday. The national average is down 13.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 1.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to Gas-Buddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
Historical gasoline prices in Montana and the national average going back 10 years: Dec. 26, 2022: $2.96/g (U.S. Average: $3.06/g) Dec. 26, 2021: $3.35/g (U.S. Average: $3.25/g) Dec. 26, 2020: $2.22/g (U.S. Average: $2.25/g) Dec. 26, 2019: $2.60/g (U.S. Average: $2.54/g) Dec. 26, 2018: $2.45/g (U.S. Average: $2.30/g) Dec. 26, 2017: $2.57/g (U.S. Average: $2.44/g) Dec. 26, 2016: $2.19/g (U.S. Average: $2.28/g) Dec. 26, 2015: $2.01/g (U.S. Average: $2.00/g) Dec. 26, 2014: $2.29/g (U.S. Average: $2.30/g) Dec. 26, 2013: $2.98/g (U.S. Average: $3.26/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Idaho- $3.20/g, down 9.2 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.29/g.
Billings- $2.93/g, down 0.9 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.94/g.
Wyoming- $2.87/g, down 5.0 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.92/g.
“After 13 straight weeks of decline, average gasoline prices have edged higher due to optimistic comments from the Fed on cutting interest rates in 2024, coupled with Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, boosting concerns of a disruption to global shipping, including oil shipments,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “For now, the price of gasoline has already jumped, but could ease slightly this week ahead of the New Year. For now, I’m optimistic that we may still have a chance of seeing the first $2.99 national average since 2021 sometime before spring arrives. We’ll have the full details on what we expect for gasoline and diesel prices in 2024 later this week.”
