JAMESTOWN — Motorists who fueled up their vehicles in Jamestown got to enjoy the lowest gasoline prices in North Dakota on Tuesday, May 9.
The price of gasoline in Jamestown was at $2.99 per gallon on Tuesday at some gas stations in Jamestown, according to GasBuddy.com. The average price of gas in Stutsman County was $3.24 per gallon on Tuesday.
The average price of gasoline in North Dakota was $3.39 per gallon as of Tuesday afternoon, said Gene LaDoucer, regional director of public affairs for AAA-The Auto Club Group. He said the statewide average for gasoline was $4.01 per gallon at this time in 2022.
“It is kind of surprising where gasoline prices are going but we’ve seen a fairly significant decrease in crude oil prices over the past couple of weeks,” he said. “Now, gasoline prices are starting to follow crude oil prices lower.”
The lowest gasoline prices per gallon in other cities in North Dakota were $3.09 in Valley City, $3.15 in Bismarck, $3.16 in Fargo, $3.25 in Grand Forks, $3.29 in Minot and $3.34 in Dickinson, according to GasBuddy.com.
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Normally gasoline prices increase when it gets closer to the Memorial Day holiday as travel starts to pick up, LaDoucer said. Now, the fuel economy is better as people are driving more fuel-efficient vehicles and there is an increase in demand for electric vehicles.
“Because of that refiners are able to keep up with demand and prices are being capped … as we approach the Memorial Day travel holiday,” LaDoucer said. “Generally we see the highest price during the year within a few weeks of the Memorial Day holiday and that has to do with the run up to the mid December travel season as well as many refineries are just coming out of maintenance season so supplies are usually somewhat limited as we approach the Memorial Day holiday.”
He said the gas prices start to level off after the Memorial Day holiday but increase again as the Fourth of July holiday approaches.
“They are usually near or even less than the price was on Memorial Day itself,” he said. “That is a seasonal trend that we generally see. Those prices generally stay, remain pretty stable through the summer months and then fall again in the fall, usually around October they start to decline again.
LaDoucer said it’s difficult to say what drives individual markets for gas prices. He said the profit margins for retail gas stations have been relatively strong and it only takes one gas station in a market to move the prices to a certain level.
“All the others will have to follow suit at some point or else they are going to lose market share,” he said. “Motorists in Jamestown are fortunate that right now they are paying the lowest price in the state but at some point you are going to see additional communities probably follow suit with those same prices.”
LaDoucer said the AAA-Auto Club has seen oil prices firm up in the last couple of days and he isn’t sure if there will be any further declines in prices.
“For right now, motorists can enjoy the less than $3 (per gallon) gasoline prices and hopefully we can see those prices be extended through the summer months,” he said.
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