Americans will see the lowest gas prices in 12 years this Independence Day.
Motorists traveling for the holiday weekend will pay an average of $2.21 per gallon, which falls well below the 10-year average of $3.14, according to data from GasBuddy.
While fuel prices are at historic lows, the difference between prices at gas stations within the same cities on July 4th will be unusually high. The spread between the lowest and highest gas prices in the nation stands at $1.29 per gallon.
This is considerably higher than the 10-year average of 98 cents per gallon for this season and even gas stations in the same state see a price spread of 51 cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
This year gas prices will be lower on July 4th than on New Year’s Day, bucking the typical trend on America’s most-traveled summer holiday.
“Perhaps we can finally get rid of the myth that gas prices go up for the holiday,” GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said of the historic July 4th prices in a post from the company.
The national average price per gallon of unleaded gas started sliding in May and continued into last week. Low prices, especially in the summer, tend to come with increased driving activity. The American Automobile Association projects a record 37.5 million people will drive 50 miles or more from home during the holiday period that stretches from June 30 to July 4.
