Gas prices drop below $3 a gallon at many Minnesota stations

Gas prices have declined across Minnesota for the fourth straight week and many stations are now selling a gallon of gas for less than $3. It’s good news for motorists, as the slide is likely to continue as the Thanksgiving holiday travel period approaches.

On Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of gas in Minnesota was $2.94, according to two organizations tracking daily gas prices.. That was down 19 cents from a month ago and 26.5 cents lower than a year ago, according to a survey of thousands of stations by both AAA and Gasbuddy.com.

The average price in the Twin Cities metro area was slightly higher at $2.98, but still 4 cents cheaper than the national average of $3.04 a gallon, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

Prices were even lower in Minnesota’s neighboring states on Tuesday morning. In Iowa, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.79, while a gallon was going for $2.80 in Wisconsin, $2.84 in South Dakota, and $2.90 in North Dakota, according to GasBuddy.

“While some may be surprised by the declines, this was anticipated in our annual fuel outlook from last December,” De Haan said. “Looking back at our outlook provides insight into the current drop and what we expect next.”

Already, 28 states have gas going for less than $3 a gallon, and that number could grow to close to 40 ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, De Haan told CNN in September.

“It appears to be just a matter of time before the national average falls below $3 per gallon for the first time since May 2021,” he said on Tuesday.

AAA attributed the price drops to decreased demand and increased oil production.

Oklahoma ($2.58), Texas ($2.65) and Mississippi ($2.67) had the cheapest gas, according to AAA. Gas was highest in Hawaii ($4.58), followed by California ($4.50) and Washington ($4.00), the auto club said.

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists Tuesday stood at $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, according to GasBuddy.

But one station in southern Minnesota, a Cenex in LeRoy in Mower County, was selling gas for $2.21 a gallon, according to the gas price tracking website. In the metro, a BP Station in Ham Lake and a Speedway and a Holiday in Forest Lake were at $2.57 a gallon, GasBuddy reported.

The most expensive gas in Minnesota was in Dodge County at $3.11 a gallon, AAA reported.