People hitting the road this week are being granted a nice holiday present: low gas prices. National gas prices fell below $ 2 a gallon Monday for the first time in about seven years, and have been around $ 2 a gallon since then, according to AAA.
Those cheaper gas prices may add up to about $ 550 a year in extra cash for the average driver, AAA estimates. But not all drivers are celebrating.
While two-thirds of gas stations across the United States have gas at less than $ 2 a gallon, fuel prices are still significantly higher in some states. "In some parts of the country, gas is not as cheap as it should be," says Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA.
In California for instance, regular gas cost an average $ 2.75 a gallon as of Wednesday — more than any other state. In Hawaii, the state with the second most expensive gas prices, a gallon cost $ 2.72 on average. And in Nevada gas averaged $ 2.50 a gallon.
AAA estimates gasoline prices are down an average of 64 cents a gallon, reducing costs by $ 100 billion compared to 2014 and saving $ 550 for each licensed driver in the country. But, they say, the low prices won’t last forever. (AP)
Gas prices tend to be higher in California and other parts of the West Coast that may be dealing with limited supply after there was an explosion this spring at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery in California, Green says. The fire may have cut down on the amount of gas available at stations in California, and other states such as Nevada may also have less gas if some of their supply was sent to California to help make up the shortages there, Green says.
As for Hawaii, it is usually among the states with the highest gas prices because the vast majority of the gas it uses must be imported, Green says. Transporting gas between islands can also be pricey.
Meanwhile, gas prices are much below $ 2 a gallon in other parts of the country, including the South. Take Missouri, where regular gas costs $ 1.74 per gallon, on average. In Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma, gas cost an average $ 1.78 per gallon. Gas is generally cheaper in the South, where an abundance of refineries are creating a steady flow of fuel for drivers in the area, Green says.
Gas prices in the Washington, D.C. area ranged from $ 1.83 to $ 2.21 as of Wednesday morning.
If gas prices follow the usual trends this winter, prices may stay low through January and could fall more if oil prices continue to slide, according to the AAA.
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Jonnelle Marte is a reporter covering personal finance. She was previously a writer for MarketWatch and the Wall Street Journal.
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