Gas prices continue to slowly trend downward

(August 18, 2020) The national gas price average has pushed only as expensive as $2.20 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that happened just one month ago. In the last four weeks, motorists have seen the national average slowly decrease, down to today’s average of $2.17 despite gasoline demand last week reaching the highest measurement (up to 8.88 million barrels a day) since Mid-March, according to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report.

On the week, nearly 40 states saw minimal movement at the pump with either a one-cent or no change in their averages. State gas price averages decreased by as much as four cents: Michigan (-4 cents) and Florida (-3 cents) saw the largest drops. Meanwhile, a dozen states saw an increase at the pump. These were mostly minimal jumps except for Indiana (+5 cents) and Wisconsin (+4 cents).

“Gas prices are stalling, if not decreasing, at the vast majority of pumps,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “We’ve likely seen gasoline prices peak for 2020, barring any major hurricanes.”



Across the country, 72% of all stations are selling gas for less than $2.25 and 41% have gas under $2/gallon.  EIA measures gasoline stocks at 247 million barrels — a 12 million year-over-year surplus — for the week ending Aug. 7. This extremely healthy supply amid lower seasonal demand is paving the way for one of the lowest annual gas price averages this decade.

Today’s national average is three cents cheaper than last month and 45 cents less than a year ago.

Quick Stats

    •    The nation’s top 10 largest weekly changes: Indiana (+5 cents), Wisconsin (+4 cents), Michigan (-4 cents), Texas (+3 cents), Florida (-3 cents), North Carolina (+2 cents), South Carolina (+2 cents), Hawaii (-2 cents), Illinois (-2 cents) and Ohio (-1 cent).

    •    The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets: Mississippi ($1.82), Louisiana ($1.84), Arkansas ($1.85), Alabama ($1.86), Texas ($1.87), Oklahoma ($1.87), Missouri ($1.88), Tennessee ($1.90), South Carolina ($1.90) and Kansas ($1.95).