State gas average falls leading to Memorial Day

During the week leading up to Memorial Day, Missouri's gas average fell 9.6 cents to $3.67 per gallon on Sunday. The drop follows a 20-cent jump during the prior week.

The U.S. average dropped 2.3 cents during the week ended May 26, averaging $3.65 per gallon, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

Missouri's May 26 average represented a 28.8-cent increase from the same day a month ago and a 31.1-cent bump from a year ago. The U.S. average increased 16.8 cents month-to-month and was unchanged year-to-year.

"Memorial Day weekend is now over, and believe it or not, many areas saw gasoline prices declining ahead of the long weekend," GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the release. "The best news for motorists is that June typically brings some relief at the pump compared to where prices peaked in May, so for many areas across the country, prices will likely continue to decline."

Missouri, which saw its gas average drop another cent this morning, ranked 27th on GasBuddy's list of the lowest gas averages in the U.S. Topping the list was South Carolina with an average of $3.19 per gallon, while Hawaii ended the list at an average of $4.27 per gallon.

The lowest price for gas in Missouri, $3.17 per gallon, was available this morning at two filling stations in Kennett, located in the Bootheel. At $3.99 per gallon, a station in Osage Beach had the highest price, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

In Springfield, a low price of $3.73 per gallon was selling at four stations:

• Sam's Club, 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive;
• Sam's Club, 3660 E. Sunshine St.;
• Shell, 1455 E. Independence St.; and
• Conoco, 1402 E. Republic Road.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $93.72 per barrel as of 9:14 a.m. Light sweet crude oil futures for July were trading at $95.46 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.