Average retail gasoline prices in Minnesota have fallen 10 cents in the past week, averaging $2.30 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 10.8 cents in the last week to $2.42 per gallon, according to gasoline price website MinnesotaGasPrices.com.
Regular gas prices in International Falls ranged from $2.03 to $2.29 per gallon, according to the site.
Including the change in gas prices in Minnesota during the past week, prices Sunday were 68.5 cents per gallon lower compared to the same day one year ago and are 42.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 41.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 80.4 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
“As Americans take to the road for Christmas travel, they’ve all been given a gift that keeps on giving: falling gas prices,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “Americans are saving over $13 million dollars an hour versus gas prices a year ago- adding up to over $315 million every day. Big declines were witnessed in Montana, Michigan, Indiana, Idaho, and Ohio, where average prices fell over 20 cents on average just in the last seven days but everyone has been a winner.”
“Just in the last 24 hours, the national average has declined nearly 7 cents per gallon, one of the largest single day decreases ever. However, I’m worried the decline may soon begin slowing- oil prices have held in the mid-$50s, and the concrete may be setting in. If it does, and oil prices fail to drop below $50 per barrel gas prices likely won’t drop more than another 10-20 cents per gallon. Either way, a sneak peak at our soon to be released 2015 gas price forecast reveals a yearly national average far lower than what we saw this year,” 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.
