(The Center Square) — Gas prices in Louisiana are cheaper around Christmas than they were months ago or the same time last year.
As of Monday on Christmas week, the average price per gallon for regular gas in the Pelican State is $2.69 according to the American Automobile Association.
The current average nationally is $3.04 a gallon for regular unleaded, and a year ago it was $3.12.
Houma-Thibodaux has the highest unleaded gas prices by city, five cents more than the state per gallon average at $2.74. Lafayette is next with $2.72 per gallon, then New Orleans with $2.71, and Baton Rouge and Lake Charles both at $2.70.
Meanwhile, Monroe got an early Christmas gift with the lowest gas prices in the state at $2.55 per gallon for regular. That’s seven cents less than just a year ago in the same city.
Next is Shreveport-Bossier at $2.60 a gallon. Then Hammond at $2.65 per gallon and Alexandria with $2.67 a gallon.
The state average for mid-grade gas is at $3.11 per gallon, premium is $3.49 a gallon and diesel is $3.19 a gallon.
All four of those prices are down from a month ago, and even dropped a couple cents from the weekend before.
A month ago, regular gas was three cents more at $2.72 a gallon. Premium and mid-grade gas was also around three to four cents more and diesel was about the same price.
The state is seeing the same kind of incremental improvement from last year, with each type of gas getting just a few cents cheaper by the month. Diesel has seen the biggest dip, starting at $3.62 a year ago, nearly 50 cents more than the current price.
The prices from both 2023 and 2024 are a far cry from the association’s highest recorded average price of gas in the Boot. Regular was a whopping $4.55 a gallon back on June 15, 2022. About a week later on June 21, 2022 Diesel saw its highest historic mark at $5.37 a gallon.
