Yakima Drivers Get Surprise For The Christmas Holiday

If you're driving somewhere this Christmas week you're getting a gift in the form of lower gas prices. Officials from GasBuddy say holiday prices this year are $1.83 per gallon lower than they were 6 months ago. The national average price of gas is forecast to be $2.98 on Christmas Day, likely to drop below the critical $3 per gallon mark on or before Christmas Eve for the first time in nearly 600 days.
Gas prices in Yakima are selling for an average of $3.54 a gallon down 19 cents over the last week.

Remember the hot prices during the hot summer months?

Prices peaked at over $5 a gallon in June but ever since then prices have been slowly coming down from record breaking levels. GasBuddy says "since October, every one of the nation’s 50 states has seen gas prices plummet with diesel starting to follow suit."

$1.94 per gallon: decrease in the national average since June peak
26: states now with average gas prices below $3 per gallon
$2.44 per gallon: the average price of the bottom 10% of U.S. gas stations
$2.99: the current most common gas price in the country
25+: cities with average diesel prices now below $3.99 per gallon

Prices cut in half in some places in the country

“As 2022 draws to a close, we’ve seen gas prices cut nearly in half in some areas compared to this earlier this year -- a well needed break from the sky high prices we faced just six months ago. Finally, things are starting to feel a bit more normal with gas prices far more affordable. Americans are saving around $25 per fill-up compared to prices this summer,” says Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While we’re closing out the year on a positive note, challenges remain that could drive prices up again next spring, so motorists might want to keep their expectations in check and enjoy the sub-$3 gasoline while they can.”