Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - After dropping 11 weeks in a row, Montana gas prices finally barely increased last week, but now prices are back on the decline. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.                

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 7.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 54.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.”                                  

As of Monday morning, many stations in Missoula had their prices set to around $3.18 per gallon.  

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $2.99 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $3.60 per gallon.                          

Montana is currently ranked 12th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas, which is three spots higher than last week.                

“The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.07 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is down 12.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 39.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.6 cents in the last week and stands at $3.54 per gallon- the lowest level in over 1,100 days.”        

READ MORE: Montana Gas Prices Finally Increase After 11 Weeks of Decline

According to De Haan, the national average price of gasoline has continued its decline over the last week as oil prices have sunk due to Israel avoiding attacks on Iran's oil infrastructure. 

“The seasonal decreases in demand are also pushing gasoline lower, as is normal for this time of year,” De Haan said. “In addition to gasoline prices falling to their lowest level since January, the average price of diesel has now fallen to its lowest level in over three years.” 

While many Americans may incorrectly credit the upcoming election for the declines, De Haan said politicians have little influence over the strong seasonal forces that drive prices lower in autumn.  

“With winter gasoline soon to reach the rest of California, and demand continuing to decline as Americans grapple with colder weather, the drop in demand is pushing gas prices down—not politicians on either side, as much as they might like to think they do,” De Haan said. “I expect the decline in gas prices will continue into and even beyond the upcoming election." 

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli

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