ST. LOUIS — After months of increasing gas prices, there's finally a slight reprieve.
In St. Louis, gas is about 5 cents cheaper than last week, standing at an average of $4.85 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
However, they're still much higher than they were last year at this time, when gas prices were averaging $2.91 in St. Louis.
Missouri and Illinois also saw decreases in gas prices statewide over the last week. Missouri gas is down 7.4 cents per gallon, at $4.62. Illinois drivers are paying 12.9 cents less per gallon from last week for an average of $5.44 a gallon, GasBuddy reported.
The national average has also decreased 8.8 cents per gallon to $4.88, but is still 28.3 cents higher than a month ago.
Diesel prices rose 2.6 cents nationally since last week, averaging $5.80 per gallon.
"With Independence Day a week away, gas prices have continued to fall for the second straight week as the price of oil has faltered, ushering in the drop we're seeing. The good news is we could also see a third straight week of decline," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
"While prices will be at their highest July 4th level ever, they'll have fallen close to 20 cents since our peak in early June. Motorists should be wary that while the decline could continue for the week ahead, any sudden jolts to supply could quickly cause a turnaround, and risk remains that when the peak of hurricane season arrives, we could see a super spike at the pump," De Haan said.
Find the cheapest gas prices in the St. Louis area and check prices in your neighborhood on our website here.
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