AAA data show the national average price for regular gasoline fell again as 2026 began, extending a broad nationwide decline.
American drivers began the new year with further relief at the gas pump, as national average gasoline prices continued to edge lower, extending a period of unusual calm in fuel markets that analysts say made 2025 one of the most stable years in nearly two decades.
Data from AAA show the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell to $2.83 on Jan. 1, down from $2.84 a day earlier, $2.85 a week earlier, and $3.00 a month earlier. Prices slipped again on Jan. 2, easing to $2.83 per gallon.
The latest figures put gasoline prices at around 23 cents below the price of $3.06, where they stood on New Year’s Day in 2025, when President Joe Biden was in office. According to AAA, drivers in 40 states are now paying less than $3 per gallon on average, underscoring the breadth of the decline.
Oklahoma recorded the lowest statewide average at $2.24 per gallon on Jan. 2, while Hawaii remained the most expensive market at $4.42.
Gas Prices Drift Lower After a Year of Rare Stability
Analysts attribute the sustained easing to a combination of robust domestic oil production and increased global supply, including a late-year ramp-up in output by members of OPEC+, despite continued sanctions on oil exporters such as Russia and Venezuela.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said prices are likely to drift lower in the near term before bottoming out later in the winter.
“Oil prices have remained relatively low even amid the U.S. blockade on Venezuela’s oil exports,” he said in a Dec. 29 statement. “With refineries running at seasonally high output and gasoline inventories building, most states—outside of price-cycling markets—have continued to see declines, with some stations in nearly a dozen states now dipping below the $2-per-gallon mark.”
The latest drops come as new data from GasBuddy highlight how muted gasoline price movements were over the past year. In a year-end review published on Dec. 30, GasBuddy said 2025 was “one of the calmest and most stable years at the pump in nearly two decades,” delivering the smallest annual price swing since 2017 and the lowest volatility since 2005.
GasBuddy’s analysis shows the national average gasoline price peaked at $3.26 per gallon on April 3, 2025, before gradually easing to a year-low of $2.76 on Dec. 28—a total range of just over 50 cents. Prices peaked unusually early in the year and reached their low unusually late, a pattern that reflected a slow, steady drift rather than sharp swings.
“When drivers look back, 2025 will stand out as one of the calmest years at the pump in recent history,” De Haan said in a statement. “That level of stability is unusual, and it may not be fully appreciated until volatility returns.”
The muted price movement stood in contrast to the sharp swings seen during the pandemic and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when supply shocks and demand surges rattled fuel markets.
By Tom Ozimek
