The national average price for a gallon of regular gas slightly dropped on Monday to $4.52. While this is still significantly higher than a month ago, a week ago, and earlier this year, it is less expensive than over the weekend, such as on Sunday, when gas prices were $4.522 per gallon.
Monday’s decrease was still nearly 7 cents per gallon more expensive than a week ago, when the national average price was $4.457 per gallon. It is also much higher than a month ago, when a gallon of regular gas cost $4.135, according to AAA. Before Monday’s decrease, the daily national average price had increased every day for over two weeks. The highest price for a gallon of regular gas in 2026 so far was $4.56 per gallon last week.
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For various reasons, gas prices have fluctuated substantially in 2026. Since gas prices fell to $2.79 per gallon on Jan. 12, a five-year low, fuel costs in the country have steadily increased. Initially, winter weather nationwide was blamed for rising fuel costs, as snowstorms in January and February disrupted oil refinery operations and production. However, fuel prices began to soar after the Iran war began.
During the first week of March, a gallon of regular gas increased to $2.98. By March 31, the national average price of regular gas had risen to $4.02 per gallon. Gas prices had previously reached a 2026 high of $4.16 per gallon on April 9. As a result, soaring fuel costs have been a frequent topic of discussion, with Democrats blaming President Donald Trump’s choice to go to war with Iran as the primary reason gas prices are high.
Monday’s slight drop came less than 24 hours after Energy Secretary Chris Wright was asked during an interview on Meet the Press on Sunday with Kristin Welker about the possibility of a $5 per gallon national average price for gas.
“Should Americans be prepared for the possibility of paying $5 a gallon for gas?” Welker asked.
Wright danced around the question in his response, instead focusing on the threat Iran posed to the world and why the country cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“Look, again, I can’t predict the price of energy in the short-term or even the medium-term, but what we’re doing is ending a 47-year conflict,” Wright said. “Iran has fought, ‘Death to the United States,’ for 47 years, ‘Death to Israel,’ and as we saw when the conflict broke out, they attacked all of their neighbors in the Middle East that had no involvement in the conflict whatsoever. If you have a hostile, unstable power like that, you simply cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons.”
Welker pressed Wright on the possibility of $5 per gallon, noting that he “did not rule out the possibility” that gas prices could rise to that amount.
“Well, I’m just avoiding price predictions,” Wright said. “But I will say the United States is in a tremendous position. We’re by far the world’s largest producer of oil.”
“Gasoline, diesel prices are up, and they will remain up while this conflict’s in place, and then they will come back down,” he added. “And ultimately they’ll come back down lower than they were before.”
One thing that remains certain about gas prices, no matter how high or low they fluctuate, is that fuel costs vary by region. The most affordable fuel prices are found in the South, while the highest gas prices in the nation are in the western U.S.
CHRIS WRIGHT DOESN’T RULE OUT $5 GAS AS IRAN WAR STRAINS GLOBAL FUEL SUPPLY
Oklahoma has the lowest gas prices in the country at $3.946 per gallon. Mississippi is next, at $3.984 per gallon, then Arkansas at $3.998. Louisiana’s statewide average increased to over $4 per gallon, but it’s the state with the next-most-affordable gas prices in the nation at $4.005 per gallon. This is followed by Texas at $4.034 per gallon.
California has the highest average gas price in the country at $6.158 per gallon. Washington state remains the state with the second-highest gas prices in the nation at $5.762 per gallon, bucking a two-year trend. Next is Hawaii at $5.65 per gallon, and then Oregon at $5.32. Alaska is the fifth-most-expensive state in the country, with a statewide average of $5.264 per gallon.
