The national average price for regular gas continued the recent downward pricing trend on Thursday, falling to $4.129 per gallon. It marked a slight decrease from Wednesday’s average of $4.151 per gallon and a 12-cent drop compared to a week ago, when a gallon of regular gas was $4.241, according to AAA. Thursday’s average price was also substantially lower than a month ago, when the cost was $4.52 per gallon, a decrease of over 40 cents per gallon.
The latest decrease, and drop in fuel costs over the last month, are representative of the volatility of gas prices in the spring. Just 21 days ago, on May 21, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas set a 2026 record at $4.564. Fuel costs have dropped nearly every day since then. Much of this is correlated to geopolitics, specifically the war between the United States and Iran.
It has also left the gas market unpredictable, with a fluctuation of consecutive days of increases followed by decreases, and vice versa, the current norm for gas prices in the country. It’s indicative of the current whirlwind of gas economics. And the volatility doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. In a previous interview with the Washington Examiner, Patrick De Haan, a gas price analyst at GasBuddy, suggested that the fluctuations will most likely continue.
“Gas prices this summer could fall below the $4 mark; they could go above $5,” said De Haan. “I think for motorists, we’re all kind of living this uncertainty.”
The only certainty is that the current gas market seems to be the uncertainty, De Haan said. He explained the volatility of recent weeks could help stabilize the market insofar as, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the previous tumultuous weeks helped normalize extreme fluctuations.
“From the psychological standpoint, the market is now accustomed to this situation, and unless there’s some sort of wild and completely unpredictable development, the market may respond in a more measured way now because it’s not as fearful of the unknown,” De Haan said. “We’ve been at this 100 days now, and I think there’s been a lot of twists and turns, so the market’s not really shocked by new developments.”
The current downward trend in gas prices could be coming to an end if recent history repeats itself. Gas prices began to drop amid reports that a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran was imminent. However, in recent days, military strikes between the countries have recommenced, and in the past, that has usually correlated with rising pump prices.
On Jan. 12, 2026, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas dropped to $2.79, the lowest price in over five years. It is unknown when gas prices will return to that level, or if they ever will. Fuel costs began to increase in January and early February, primarily due to winter weather that affected much of the country. Prices began to soar as Operation Epic Fury commenced on Feb. 28.
After the surge in gas prices in early spring, a dip at the pumps to begin the summer is much needed. Relief at the pumps has also spread nationwide, with 24 states now reporting gas price averages below $4 per gallon, according to AAA. This is in stark contrast to May 20, when every state in the nation had an average price of $4 per gallon or higher. How long this will last given the recent tit-for-tat military strikes between Iran and the U.S., and if prices will increase or decrease, remains to be seen.
US PRIMED FOR SUMMER OF UNPREDICTABLE GAS PRICES AS IRAN WAR RAGES ON: ‘LIVING THIS UNCERTAINTY’
Regardless of fluctuations, one constant about U.S. gas prices is that fuel costs vary by region. The states with the lowest gas prices, with one exception, are in the South — many along the Gulf Coast. The states with the highest gas prices in the country are located in the western U.S.
Indiana remains the state with the lowest prices in the country at $3.394 per gallon. Next is Texas, with a statewide average of $3.584 per gallon. This is followed by Oklahoma, which for most of the last two years had the cheapest gas prices in the country. On Thursday in the Sooner State, a gallon of regular gas averaged $3.619. Tennessee was next, followed by Louisiana at $3.681 per gallon and $3.69 per gallon, respectively.
Meanwhile, California remains the state with the highest gas prices in the country at $5.809 per gallon. Hawaii moved up to the state with the second-highest gas prices in the country at $5.583 per gallon. Next is Washington state at $5.567 per gallon. Alaska is next, with a statewide average of $5.153 per gallon, followed by Oregon at $5.048 per gallon.