The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline continued to drop on Tuesday to a price of $3.14, according to AAA. This was the fifth consecutive day of decreases after fuel costs started to rise at the beginning of February. It’s also correlated with a surge in energy prices.
Tuesday’s gas price is over two cents cheaper than the end of last week. It’s also a price reduction from when a gallon of regular gas was $3.161 a week ago. However, gas prices are now more expensive than when gas was $3.127 per gallon a month ago.
High gas prices have been an important issue for people in the country over the last several years, as costs at the pumps have impacted the economy and people’s finances. During former President Joe Biden’s term, the nation experienced a significant increase in gas costs compared to his predecessor, President Donald Trump. Between Jan. 2017 and Jan. 2021, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.476.
That began to change when Biden became president. Less than six months into his term, the price of gas increased to more than $3 per gallon by June 2021. Gas prices have never been under $3 per gallon since then.
During Biden’s presidency, the cost of a gallon of regular gas reached $4.929 in June 2022, the most expensive gas in the nation’s history. The following month, gas prices began to drop. Fuel costs continued fluctuating between 2022 and 2024 but remained higher than when Trump was in office. By April 2024, fuel costs were trending upward and peaked for the year before ultimately starting to fall in May.
Eventually, gas prices dropped to $3.01 per gallon by mid-December. They began to rise again after Christmas and then fell on Jan. 20, the day Trump began his second term.
Fuel costs vary throughout the country, depending on where one lives. Some areas are much higher than others. As gas prices drop in some parts of the country, fuel costs rise in other parts. Prices range from as low as $2.672 per gallon in Mississippi to as high as $4.832 in California.
GAS PRICES: SLIGHT DECREASE AT THE PUMPS TO END THE WEEK
In and around Washington, D.C., gas prices have been trending downward in recent days. After a tumultuous early part of February, gas prices have stabilized slightly in the region. Delaware has the least expensive gas prices in the Delmarva region, with a price of $2.917 per gallon. This decreased from a week ago in the First State when gas cost $2.979.
In Maryland, gas prices fell to $3.028 per gallon, a drop from last week’s price of $3.102. Meanwhile, Virginia’s gas prices fell to under $3 per gallon, with a cost of $2.992. Washington, D.C., has the most expensive gas prices in the region and the second highest among all the states on the Atlantic coast. On Tuesday, a gallon of regular gas in the nation’s capital was $3.25.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
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