Average retail gasoline prices in Minnesota have fallen 5.5 cents in the past week, averaging $3.49 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 2,856 gas outlets in Minnesota. This compares with the national average that has decreased 1.4 cents in the last week to $3.64 per gallon, according to gasoline price website MinnesotaGasPrices.com.
Regular gasoline prices in International Falls, according to the site, ranged from $3.39 to $3.48. Prices for midgrade fuel were listed at $3.79 per gallon, premium prices came in at $4.05 per gallon and diesel fuel ranged from $4.09 to $4.25 per gallon.
Including the change in gas prices in Minnesota during the past week, prices Sunday were 9.7 cents per gallon lower compared to the same day one year ago and are 2.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 9.2 cents during the last month and stands 13.4 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.
“Finally, the news motorists have been waiting for- it appears that at least for now, the national average has peaked,” said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. “Since February 7, gasoline prices have been on an upward trajectory in a majority of the U.S., and at least for now, prices have broken that upward trend and have stabilized. This is great news, as it likely means in the next couple weeks that gasoline prices will begin seeing more downward momentum . By Memorial Day, if there aren’t major refinery kinks that develop, we could see the national average dropping into the $3.50s, or perhaps even lower,” DeHaan said.
GasBuddy.com is a tool to help motorists save money at the pump by collecting gas price data and displaying it on websites and on a free smartphone app that has been downloaded over 37 million times. The site operates MinnesotaGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at more than 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.
