Montana Gas Prices Rise Again, Still Below the National Average

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana gas prices continue to rise at an alarming rate. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, and he provided the current numbers.

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have risen 9.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.87 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 55.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 74.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago."

As of Monday morning, most stations in Missoula were charging $3.89, which is a 10-cent increase from last week. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.48 per gallon yesterday, while the most expensive was $4.44 per gallon.

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Montana is currently ranked 33rd in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas, which is five spots higher than last week.

"The national average price of gasoline is unchanged in the last week, averaging $4.07 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is up 39.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 93.4 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 4.1 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $5.62 per gallon.”

According to De Haan, average gasoline prices surged for many Americans through the first half of last week before easing in some areas after oil prices slipped following President Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire.

“However, with a breakdown in talks and renewed escalation over the weekend, motorists should prepare for another round of price increases,” De Haan said. “The move toward a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is compounding global supply concerns and risks further disrupting flows, which pushed oil prices sharply higher in Sunday night trading. As a result, gasoline prices are likely to jump again this week, with diesel expected to follow, until there is a meaningful restoration of shipping through the Strait.”

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