MO lays claim to lowest gas average in U.S.

At an average of $2.95 per gallon this morning, Missouri had the least expensive price of gas in the country.

The state edged out No. 2 ranked Oklahoma by three-hundreds of a cent, according to GasBuddy.com's list of the lowest gas averages in the country. Hawaii, with an average of $3.97 per gallon, had the highest priced gas in the U.S.

This morning's rank follows a week in which Missouri's gas average dropped 7.8 cents to $2.96 per gallon yesterday.

The state's Dec. 16 average was 13.4 cents lower than a month ago and 6.1 cents lower than a year ago. The U.S. average, which fell 8 cents to $3.25 per gallon during the week, decreased 18.3 cents during the last month but increased 1.3 cents compared to the same day in 2011, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

"The drop in gas prices certainly has been well noted - in some instances, people have been calling this a gas price crash. Dub it whatever you like, but I'll remind motorists - gasoline prices in some areas still could set all-time record highs for Christmas Day," GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the release. "Call me a grinch, call me a realist, but at the end of the day, data doesn't lie, and that data shows that gasoline prices are still clinging near all time highs for today's date."

In late November, GasBuddy.com analysts said the national average this year would have a difficult time dropping low enough not to set a record high. At the time, DeHaan said the U.S. average would have to drop to $2.35 per gallon or lower for the rest of the year to fall below last year's average of $3.51 per gallon.

As of 9:51 a.m., the lowest price of gasoline in Missouri could be found for $2.76 per gallon at a filling station in Concord, near St. Louis. The highest price, $3.59 per gallon, was available at a station in Cape Girardeau, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

In Springfield, a low price of $2.89 per gallon was available at Sam's Club, 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $86.81 per barrel as of 9:53 a.m., compared to $85.98 per barrel a week ago. Light sweet crude oil futures for January were trading at $87.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.