Overview
- The national average for regular gasoline has dropped roughly 40 cents over the past month to about $4.10 per gallon after three straight weeks of declines, according to AAA and market trackers.
- Analysts and AAA link the pullback to crude oil trading below $100 a barrel as U.S. and Iranian officials signaled talks that could reopen flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
- The outlook remains fragile because recent reporting also shows renewed military strikes, U.S. actions against tankers and an EIA forecast that shipments through the Strait may not normalize until the third quarter of 2026.
- Prices vary sharply across states, with Gulf Coast and Midwest markets near $3.40–$3.60 per gallon and California and some West Coast states averaging about $5.75 to $5.80 per gallon, reflecting taxes, fuel rules and refining limits.
- Higher diesel and lingering supply constraints continue to push shipping and grocery costs up, and analysts warn retailers may pass through oil-driven price rises faster than they pass on declines, keeping inflation pressure for consumers.