Average national prices for a gallon of gasoline at the pump on Monday fell for the first time in a month, according to GasBuddy, dropping 8.2 cents per gallon compared to a week ago, with prices still 7.8 cents higher than a month ago, and 46.9 cents higher than this time last year.
Diesel is also tracking this month with gasoline, with the national average per gallon of diesel dropping 4.8 cents week-on-week, resting at $3.546 per gallon on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy data.
“After oil’s sharp drop over the last couple of weeks — driven by concerns over the impact of U.S. tariffs and OPEC+ restoring production faster than expected — gasoline prices have posted a notable weekly decline, with nearly every state seeing prices fall,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“While I do expect gas prices to continue trending lower, any abrupt change in the current tariff situation could eventually bring the decline to a halt. For now, the good news is that gas prices typically reach their yearly peak around April 10, so we may have already witnessed ‘peak pain’ at the pump for 2025. As refiners near the end of seasonal maintenance and supply begins to rise — and with the changeover to summer gasoline nearly complete — it’s increasingly likely that gas prices have already hit their high for the year,” De Haan continued.
Global energy markets experienced a fleeting reprieve following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension on proposed reciprocal tariffs for most countries, excluding China. This led to a modest rebound in oil prices.
Despite this reprieve, the energy sector is under immense pressure over the trade war, with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) adjusting its projections downward, forecasting Brent crude to average $67.87 per barrel in 2025.
Also on Monday, OPEC revised its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast, citing escalating trade tensions and weaker-than-expected economic indicators, and now anticipating a demand increase of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) for 2025, down 150,000 bpd from its previous projection. OPEC has also adjusted downward its 2026 forecast to 1.28 million bpd.
Source: By Charles Kennedy from Oilprice.com