Montana Gas Prices Continue to Drop, National Average Increases

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana gas prices have now dropped eight weeks in a row. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.           

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 2.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.30 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 13.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 86.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.”                             

As of Monday morning, many stations in Missoula had their prices set to around $3.29 per gallon.    

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.07 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $4.54 per gallon.                     

Montana is currently ranked 14th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas, which is one spot lower than last week.           

“The national average price of gasoline has risen 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.16 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is down 18.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 67.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.55 per gallon.”         

READ MORE: Largest Gas Price Drop So Far This Year in Montana

According to De Haan, oil prices jumped after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a larger-than-expected half percent. 

“We've seen some states where gas prices have inched back up, while others have continued to decline,” De Haan said. “Most of these increases should be temporary with declines returning in the days and weeks ahead. While the future looks good for gas prices to continue trending lower for most in the weeks ahead, oil's jump may mute the downside potential just a bit — for now."