Montana Gas Prices Rise at an Alarming Rate, LA Prices Reached $4.00

Gas prices are surging across the United States and Missoula is no exception. Dan McTeauge is a Senior Petroleum Analyst at GasBuddy and he says gas prices in Montana are on the rise.

“We have seen prices go up nine cents a gallon compared to last week,” McTeague said. “Prices are up 30 cents this month alone. If you really want to put it into perspective, that is still about five or six cents a gallon higher than this time last year. That suggests this is very much a different year than what we were experiencing back in 2018. We are still about six weeks away from the official launch of the summer driving season on Memorial Day weekend.”

When it comes to the national average, Montana gas prices have ranked near the bottom 10 most of the year. Unfortunately, McTeague says we have climbed the ladder and are right in the middle now.

“The U.S. average stands at $2.83 a gallon,” McTeague said. “Montana prices are a little more moderate. They are at about $2.68 a gallon. We are right in the middle. We are about the 25^th most or lease expensive. You can look at the glass half full or half empty. We are right smack dab in the middle.”

According to McTeague, several refineries have experienced unexpected problems and prices are increasing as a result. Average gas prices in California reached $4.00 a gallon for the first time since July 2015. McTeague predicts that prices in Montana will go up even more in the next few days. He says he would not be surprised if there is a 10 cent a gallon increase between now and next week.