Montana Gas Prices Are on the Rise, More Increases Expected

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Gasoline prices in Montana are finally rising but remain lower than the national average. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.

“Average gasoline prices in Montana have risen 5.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.86 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 4.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 36.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.”

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $2.68 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $3.09 per gallon.

Montana is currently 21st in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas.

“The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.12 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is up 4.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 32.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 3.0 cents in the last week and stands at $3.92 per gallon.”

According to De Haan, most states saw average gasoline prices rise over the last week. He said they were pushed slightly higher by oil prices that had risen to multi-month highs.

“While most states saw price increases, they were somewhat tame, though the trend will likely begin to accelerate towards the end of the month,” De Haan said. “For now, the most common gas price in the U.S. remains $2.99 per gallon, but its days are numbered. While Southern California is already beginning the transition to summer gasoline, and with it, higher prices, we could see a brief 'clearance sale' on remaining winter gasoline in some pockets of interior states as refiners start to move these time-sensitive barrels out of the system. Motorists shouldn't be fooled into thinking any drop in prices is a long-term trend, but rather a very short-term one.”

De Haan said he expects any drops in prices will be replaced by pricier gasoline as we get closer to the start of spring.

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