Montana Cracks the Top 15 for Average Gas Prices in the U.S.

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana gasoline prices have risen so much recently that they are now higher than the national average. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have risen 8.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.46 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 36.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 25.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.”

As of Monday afternoon, almost all the stations in Missoula had their prices set to at least $3.49 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.15 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $3.85 per gallon.

Montana is currently ranked 15th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas.

“The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is up 18.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.00 per gallon.”

According to De Haan, most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week.

“The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance," De Haan said. “"The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we've seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us.”

For now, De Haan thinks gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon.