Gasoline prices have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly five years and stand at about $2.90 per gallon on average as of Dec. 8, according to data from GasBuddy, a company that tracks gas prices.
“The national average has just slipped below $2.90 per gallon for the first time since May 2, 2021,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan wrote in a Dec. 7 post on X.
He added that “at the current level of $2.897/gal (according to GasBuddy), the national average price of gasoline is at its lowest level in 1,680 days.”
In an analysis posted on the morning of Dec. 8, GasBuddy said the average price for regular unleaded gas had dropped by 5 cents over the previous week and noted that the average price is down 17.6 cents from a month ago and is 7.3 cents lower than a year ago.
The most common gas price seen by drivers was $2.79 per gallon nationwide, a figure that GasBuddy said was down 20 cents from the previous week.
“With the national average falling further, we’re now at multi-year lows heading into Christmas,“ De Haan said in a statement accompanying the analysis. ”Barring any major disruptions, prices are likely to stay relatively low into the new year.”
Diesel prices also dropped by 5.1 cents over the previous week, GasBuddy said, and now stand at $3.67 per gallon.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at about $2.95 as of Dec. 8. That’s down 5 cents from seven days ago, the association said. A year ago, the average price was roughly $3 per gallon, AAA data show.
Currently, California has the highest prices in the nation, at $4.46 per gallon, followed by Hawaii at $4.43 and Washington state at $4.10, according to a map from the automotive organization. Oklahoma has the lowest, at $2.36 per gallon.
The highest-ever average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was reached in mid-June 2022, when it topped $5, according to AAA’s figures.
President Donald Trump and administration officials have sought to demonstrate that their policies are working and that Americans are better off than during the previous administration.
The White House on Dec. 8 highlighted the GasBuddy report, saying it’s evidence that U.S. economic activity would soon pick up.
“It’s part of an emerging trend of strong economic news, backed up by data,” the administration said in a post on its website, referring to the gas prices report. “In just the past week, Americans saw the national median rent fall for the fourth straight month, weekly jobless claims plummet to a three-year low, mortgage rates near their lowest level in a year, and consumer sentiment spike.”
Last week, Trump signed a measure to scrap fuel-economy requirements for gas-powered vehicles, known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, in a move that he said would reduce the cost of living for many. Administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have said the current government is dealing with inflation-related problems that were left behind by the previous administration.
“Inflation is a composite number, and I think we are on a glide path to lower inflation over the coming months,” Bessent said during a CBS News interview on Dec. 7.
