CARS.COM — Gas prices have fallen for 12 days in a row, and motorists in the Great Lakes area saw the biggest declines in the past week. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said Thursday that the national average for regular gas was $2.32 a gallon, down 4 cents from a week ago due in large part to double-digit declines in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. In Ohio, for example, the average price for regular fell 18 cents a gallon to $2.42, and in Indiana it fell 19 cents to $2.35.
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Starting in mid-May, prices had soared by 28 cents or more in those states before the recent downward trend. The national average for regular gas reached a calendar year high of $2.39 a gallon on June 11. In 2015, the peak price for regular gas was $2.81 a gallon on June 14.
The national average price for regular gas is 47 cents lower than a year ago, and around $1.35 less than at this time in 2013 and 2014. AAA said it is the lowest for this time of year since 2005, and that an ample supply of oil and lower global prices are offsetting record demand for gasoline in the U.S.
"Pump prices generally peak during the summer months, due to imbalances in supply and demand," AAA said in a statement. "Unlike many recent years, supply appears to be meeting the growing demand, and as a result prices have held relatively steady and are markedly lower than one year ago."
GasBuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan said lower prices should continue through the summer.
"While motorists have had anxiety with the recent volatility in prices, rest assured that barring any major changes, fuel prices this summer are very likely to average out to their lowest level since the 2005 driving season," DeHaan said in a statement.
With demand for gas running at record levels, DeHaan cautioned that a major disruption in supply, such as from a hurricane, could change that scenario because "there is less margin for error at refineries than previous years."
Pump prices moved downward in most states the past week, though in most cases they declined by a nickel or less per gallon. The national average for premium gas was $2.81, 3 cents lower than a week ago. Diesel was unchanged at $2.37.
South Carolina had the lowest average price, at $2.02, followed by Mississippi, at $2.06, and Arkansas, at $2.09. Five states averaged $2.11, according to AAA. California still had the most expensive gas, with an average price of $2.87 a gallon for regular, followed by Hawaii, at $2.77; Alaska, $2.67; and Washington, $2.65.
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