AAA: Gas price decline stalls as Labor Day arrives

AAA reports on gas pricing trends

By Mark Reif Published August 30, 2024

Travelers at a gas station — Foundry via Pixabay

Yesterday, the American Automobile Association (AAA) announced that while gas prices continue to drop, that’s slowed with the arrival of Labor Day. With the end-of-summer holiday bringing increased road travel, gasoline demand is higher, possibly causing the slowdown. Another factor is an approaching storm system in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, EV drivers will experience even pricing as L2 commercial electricity remains stable.

Gas and electric pricing ahead of Labor Day

Gas prices from AAA — AAA

As of August 29, a gallon of regular gas was $3.36. That was two cents less than last week, 14 cents lower than last month, and 46 cents less than a year prior. However, the rate of decline has slowed with Labor Day demand, lowered production, and falling gasoline stocks. A potential storm could also play a role. EV drivers can expect pricing to stay the same.

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Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that gasoline demand increased from 9.19 million b/d to 9.30 b/d last week. At the same time, production dropped to 9.6 million barrels daily, and stocks decreased from 220.2 to 218.4 million barrels.

Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson, said: “Since today, 8/29, is my birthday, my wish is that this potential tropical storm fizzles quickly. And the arrival of September means cheaper winter-blend gasoline is almost here, which always helps take pressure off pump prices.”

For those driving electric vehicles, the national kWh average at an L2 commercial charging station is a stable 34 cents. Further, the AAA noted the most (and least) expensive states to fill up the tank or top off the batteries.

The most expensive states for gas are Hawaii ($4.65), California ($4.62), Washington ($4.16), Nevada ($3.96), Oregon ($3.79), Alaska ($3.73), Illinois ($3.70), Washington, D.C. ($3.60), Idaho ($3.59), and Utah ($3.59).

The least expensive gas can be found in Mississippi ($2.88), Oklahoma ($2.94), Texas ($2.94), Tennessee ($2.95), Louisiana ($2.96), Alabama ($2.96), Arkansas ($3.00), South Carolina ($3.01), Missouri ($3.04), and Kansas ($3.05).

The highest EV charging rates (L2 kWh) are in Hawaii (56 cents), West Virginia (45 cents), South Dakota (43 cents), Arkansas (42 cents), Idaho (42 cents), South Carolina (42 cents), Montana (41 cents), Kentucky (41 cents), New Hampshire (41 cents) and Alaska (40 cents).

The lowest L2 charging rate per kWh is in Kansas (22 cents), Missouri (24 cents), Delaware (25 cents), Texas (28 cents), Nebraska (29 cents), Utah (29 cents), Wisconsin (29 cents), Michigan (30 cents), Vermont (30 cents) and North Dakota (30 cents).

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Mark Reif is a writer from Stowe, Vermont. During the winter, he works as a snowboard coach and rides more than 100 days. The…

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