Mo., national gas averages drop at same pace

While the Missouri and national gas averages fell by roughly the same amount during the past week, the Show-Me State is still 17 cents below the nation.

The Missouri gas average dropped 2.3 cents to $2.26 per gallon yesterday, and the U.S. average moved down 2.4 cents to $2.43 per gallon, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

Show-Me State prices yesterday were 18.2 cents higher than a month ago but $1.07 lower than a year ago. The national average has increased 18 cents during the past month but decreased $1.09 during the past year.

At $2.25 per gallon this morning, Missouri’s average ranked the state No. 15 on GasBuddy’s list of the lowest averages in the nation. At $2.13 per gallon, South Carolina topped the list, while California was at the bottom with its $3.37 average.

In Missouri, the lowest price reported this morning was $1.99 per gallon at a filling station in Sunrise Beach, near Lake of the Ozarks. At $2.99 per gallon, a Poplar Bluff station recorded the highest price statewide, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

Springfieldians could purchase gas for as low as $2.13 per gallon at Sam’s Club, 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive. Prices elsewhere ranged from $2.16 to $2.23 per gallon.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $43.23 per barrel as of 10:29 a.m., compared to $49.51 per barrel a week ago. Light sweet crude oil futures for April were trading at $43.24.