EIA: Retail Gasoline Prices Saw Multi-Year Decline in 2025


   
Kristina Davis
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   MIAMI, FL (DTN) - U.S. retail gasoline prices reached multi-year declines in 
2025, with drivers paying an average of $3.10 per gallon for regular grade 
fuel, down 21 cents from 2024, according to data from the Energy Information 
Administration.

   The decrease marked the third straight year of falling nominal gasoline 
prices, underscoring how shifts in the global oil market continued to shape 
fuel costs at the pump.

   Lower crude oil prices were the primary driver behind the drop. Crude 
typically accounts for the largest share of gasoline prices, and oil markets 
spent much of the first half of 2025 under pressure from oversupply concerns 
and a softer global economic outlook that restrained demand. Those factors 
affected benchmark crude prices and filtered through to retail gasoline values 
nationwide, the EIA said.

   The downward trend followed the sharp run up seen earlier in the decade. 
Gasoline prices have eased each year since 2022, when inflation adjusted prices 
surged to their highest levels since 2014. Petroleum markets tightened in 2022 
in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February that year, and as fuel 
consumption recovered after the demand destruction caused by the 2020/21 
coronavirus outbreak.

   Since 2022, the peak for gasoline pump prices in the U.S. has also been 
lower. The April 2025 national average high of $3.24 for a gallon was still 
lower than the 2024 peak of $3.67.

   As in the prior year, that peak arrived before the summer driving season, 
which typically coincides with the highest annual prices as fuel demand rises.

   Instead of rising in the summer, gasoline prices softened through much of 
the 2025 second half and into end of year. The national average slid to an 
annual low of $2.81 per gallon by late-December as crude prices remained 
subdued, and refining margins narrowed toward the end of November, according to 
the EIA.

   Memorial Day prices, often viewed as a barometer for summer travel costs, 
were the lowest in real terms since 2020.

   Steady demand for gasoline, however, helped limit the downside in prices. 
U.S. gasoline consumption in 2025 edged down by less than 1% from the previous 
year on an annual average basis. That modest decline, paired with a slight 
increase in net exports, left inventories broadly in line with 2024 levels.

   Tighter global refining conditions also briefly reversed the trend of 
falling prices late last year. In September, gasoline prices rose above 
year-ago levels for the first time due to supply tightness.

   Such supply conditions persisted through October and November as stronger 
refining margins kept prices near parity with 2024 heading into Thanksgiving.

   Still, regional differences remained pronounced for gasoline pump prices 
across the U.S. Annual average regular grade gasoline prices ranged from $2.39 
per gallon along the Gulf Coast to $4.32 per gallon on the West Coast, 
reflecting variations in local supply balances, fuel specifications, and state 
taxes, EIA data showed.




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