Gas prices steady ahead of Memorial Day weekend

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Arkansans hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend can expect to pay a lot less to fill their tanks than last year.

GasBuddy.com reported Monday the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Natural State fell 0.6 cents in the last week to $3.07.

That’s $1.02 less than motorists spent last year at this time when Arkansas gas prices averaged $4.09 a gallon, GasBuddy stated.

The national average remained unchanged from last week’s $3.51 per gallon. Meanwhile, the national average price of diesel fell 3.2 cents last week to $3.94.

“In the run up to Memorial Day, the national average price of gas has seen little overall movement over the last week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “I think we’ll see prices rise slightly as we get closer to Memorial Day, especially if there are positive developments in the debt ceiling discussions in D.C., while pessimism could drive prices slightly lower.”

De Haan said he remained “optimistic” that national prices would remain below $4 per gallon for most of the summer.