The Best Day of the Week To Buy Gas May Surprise You
Written by
David Nadelle
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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Gas prices tumbled over the past two weeks, according to GasBuddy, though filling up at the pumps will still set you back a hefty sum. “For the first time in two weeks, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined, falling 3.1 cents from a week ago to $3.80 per gallon yesterday,” a GasBuddy post noted as of Sept. 25.
“It’s been a mostly quiet week for the national average price of gasoline, with most states seeing gas prices cool off. But new and continued refinery issues in some regions have had an oversized effect on gas prices in some states, especially in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“While most states are likely to continue seeing gasoline prices fall in the week ahead, any new refinery issues as others begin maintenance could be problematic. For diesel prices, however, the opposite is playing out, with prices that continue to rise as demand for diesel strengthens. Overall, the largest issues impacting gas prices remain refinery disruptions, but also the price of oil, which has held around $90 per barrel as Saudi Arabia and Russia maintain significant production cuts.”
When it comes to steep gas prices, it pays to know where and when to fill up.
Luckily, GasBuddy has you covered. The gas savings navigation app provides drivers with real-time price data searchable by city, state and brand at over 150,000 gas stations in North America. On its site, GasBuddy has published its latest report on what days are the best and worst to buy gas.
The Best Day To Buy Gas: Monday
Analyzing gas price stats from January 1, 2021, to December 16, 2021, GasBuddy found that Monday consistently offered the lowest average gas price in 17 states and is the best day to buy gas. These findings come as no surprise — Monday was the most reasonable gas price day found in GasBuddy’s 2017, 2018 and 2019 studies, as well.
However, report findings revealed that Friday, routinely one of the most expensive days to purchase gas, is now one of the cheapest. This unexpected discovery contradicts past reports and general assumptions that people want to fill up on Friday to prepare for the weekend’s activities and errands.
“Though there is variation in daily gas prices across different states, the consensus is that filling up at the beginning or end of the work week, on Monday or Friday, is the best way to save money, said De Haan. “Following Monday, Sunday is the cheapest day to fill up. But even if you can’t always time your fill ups, the golden rule is to always shop around before filling up.”
The Worst Day To Buy Gas: Thursday
Historically, the weekend — Saturday in particular — has been the worst day to buy fuel. So, it is unusual to find out that Thursday was by far the most expensive day to buy gasoline in 2021. According to the numbers, 28 states had Thursday as the day with the highest average gas price.
Saturday is still an expensive day at gas stations, plus it is a busy day for lineups and traffic. However, the study results clearly show that you should be avoiding the pumps mid-week, as Wednesday is now the second most costly gas price day behind Thursday.
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