Montana Gas Prices Stabilize, Now Lower Than the National Average

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana gasoline prices have been on the rise for months, but the past two weeks have been tame. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.         

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have risen 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.56 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 19.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 30.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.”       

Since January 29, 2024, the average price of gas in Montana has risen 75 cents. As of Monday afternoon, almost all the stations in Missoula had their prices set to at least $3.59 per gallon.   

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.17 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $3.89 per gallon.        

Montana is currently ranked 15th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas, up one spot from last week.      

“The national average price of gasoline has risen 6.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.57 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is up 17.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 0.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 3.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.02 per gallon.”      

READ MORE: Have Montana Gas Prices Finally Peaked?  

According to De Haan, the increase in prices was driven by extensive refinery maintenance on the West Coast, where prices have increased notably. 

“Only a handful of states have seen prices decline over the last week," said De Haan. "With oil prices rising to nearly $87 per barrel last week, their highest since October, we are not only facing the seasonal factors that push prices up—refinery maintenance, the switch to summer gasoline, and rising demand—but also escalating crude oil prices as OPEC's production cuts continue to cause declining global oil inventories, with escalations between Iran and Israel adding to concerns of further destabilization.” 

De Haan said the West Coast is likely to see gas prices continue to jump, and in a week or so, will be joined by the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states as they wrap up the transition to summer gasoline.