PHOENIX — Each time you've filled up your gas tank lately, you've likely noticed you're saving at least a few cents.
According to a GasBuddy price chart, Phoenix gas prices have been steadily dropping since mid-May. Gasoline prices have dropped from nearly $5 per gallon to $4.34.
Some stations are selling fuel for as low as $3.79 to $3.99 per gallon, according to the Gas Buddy map on Tuesday.
You can see the cheapest prices for gas in your area here.
However, according to GasBuddy, gas prices across the country have been bobbing up and down for some time.
The national average is $3.56 per gallon of gasoline, according to GasBuddy data. Diesel is at an average of $3.85 per gallon, Tuesday numbers show.
“Some states have seen minor increases while others have seen decreases, and the mixed bag is likely to continue for the time being with oil prices a bit all over the place,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
While gas prices started low this year it did not take long for them to rise.
Looking at historical data, Phoenix gas is typically a dollar lower than the average in Los Angeles and slightly above the national average. In the past several months gas prices followed a very different trend.
In May, the Phoenix average surpassed Los Angeles when it rose over $5 per gallon.
One of the major reasons for this is the blend of gas used in the Valley and where it is produced.
Due to poor air quality during the summer months, Maricopa County is required to use a more environmentally friendly blend of gas by the EPA. The blend used is called “Cleaner Burning Gasoline” (CBG) and is the cleanest, but most expensive blend to produce.
Maricopa’s CBG is produced at refineries in Southern California.
This past March refinery production of gasoline intended for export out of California fell to five-year lows as refineries went offline for maintenance and the switch to summer blends.
Lower supply combined with increasing seasonal demand caused prices in Arizona to spike.
Refinery production increased quickly after March to at or near the five-year highs, helping to alleviate the supply crunch of CBG.
Republican state legislator Alex Kolodin is looking to sponsor legislation next year that will allow other EPA-approved gasoline blends in the Valley. The hope being the state would be less reliant on only a few refineries.
“There are other blends of gasoline, that also meet the EPA clean air requirements for the valley,” Kolodin told ABC15. “If we could just open our system up to those, I think we could get gas prices down a significant amount. So the legislation that I want to push, or rather, revive is legislation to allow Arizona drivers to use any sort of gasoline that would meet the EPA clean air requirements.”
Kolodin called the change “low-hanging fruit” and hopes his colleagues and Governor Katie Hobbs will support the effort in next year’s session.
