Kootenai County gas prices hold steady

COEUR d'ALENE — A record number of Idahoans are hitting the road for the Fourth of July weekend.

According to AAA, Monday’s average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Gem State was $3.96, which is 2 cents less than a week ago and 7 cents more than a month ago, but a whopping $1.30 less than a year ago. The national average sits at $3.54 per gallon. That’s 4 cents less than a week ago, 3 cents less than a month ago, and $1.27 less than a year ago.

Kootenai County prices were running from $3.99 for a gallon of gas to $4.19.

AAA projects that 50.7 million Americans will travel for Independence Day, including nearly 291,000 Idahoans, the most since AAA began tracking travel data for the holiday.

“Thankfully, pump prices have held steady and even dipped since mid-June,” said AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde.

Here’s a seven-year retrospective of Idaho and U.S. gas prices July 4:

YEAR IDAHO U.S.

2022 $5.25 $4.81

2021 $3.49 $3.13

2020 $2.35 $2.18

2019 $2.99 $2.76

2018 $3.16 $2.87

2017 $2.57 $2.23

2016 $2.48 $2.27

Idaho currently ranks seventh in the country for most expensive fuel behind Washington ($4.98), California ($4.84), Hawaii ($4.71), Oregon ($4.64), Alaska ($4.30) and Nevada ($4.22).

The West Texas Intermediate benchmark for crude oil is currently trading near $70 per barrel, which is $2 less than a month ago and $28 less than a year ago. Crude oil makes up more than half of the price of finished gasoline.

“The summer spike in crude oil and gas prices hasn’t materialized yet, but it’s too early to tell if we’ve hit a major plateau or if we’re still sitting at base camp with another peak on the horizon,” Conde said.