Christmas is right around the corner, meaning many Americans are getting ready to hop in their car and drive to grandma's house.
There is at least one early Christmas gift this year, and it comes in the form of lower gas prices.
According to the gas tracking site GasBuddy, the U.S. average for a regular gallon of gas going into Tuesday was $3.06. It's a drop of five cents from the same day last week.
In the Valley, the price is down even more. Phoenix metro pumps are averaging $3.20, a drop of eight cents. Tucson prices are well under $3 at $2.78 and down a full ten cents since last week.
Average prices for this holiday travel week are the lowest in two years. Back in 2021, the price of gas in the Valley averaged over fifty cents higher for this week. Last year, prices were about twenty cents higher. This puts 2023 solidly in the middle compared to the past five years since gas prices between 2018 and 2020 were lower during the same week.
Gas prices in the Valley have been extremely volatile since the beginning of 2022 with averages ranging anywhere from the low $3 to a high of $5.70. A pattern is emerging in more recent years where gas prices in the week leading up to Christmas are at or near the lowest for the entire year. If the pattern continues as it has since 2021, this means prices will likely begin a rise that could add a dollar or more to each pumped gallon of gas.
Valley residents traveling west should expect to see gas prices in the high $4 range in areas around Los Angeles and San Diego. The average in Las Vegas is $3.80, but prices are trending down.
The average in Flagstaff is $3.40 a gallon but trending up. Cities outside Arizona to the north and east like Salt Lake City, Albuquerque or El Paso are below $3. Average prices for these cities are rising more aggressively than cities located on the West Coast
