(The Center Square) – Nearly five weeks after an overnight 9-cent spike, the traditional transportation energy price in North Carolina has fallen to $3.75 per gallon from $4.21, AAA reported Monday morning.
The state with the seventh-highest taxation is also now No. 7 in lowest price for gasoline.
Unleaded gasoline hasn’t quite kept pace nationally, dropping to $4.16 from $4.53 at the same time. The state’s diesel average bests both, having fallen from $5.50 to $4.97.
From Murphy to Manteo, diesel has fallen 13 cents in the most recent seven days, fell 18 cents between the day after Memorial Day and June 1, and 42 cents since May 19. Unleaded gasoline has tumbled 19 cents in the most recent seven days, dropped 20 cents between the day after Memorial Day and June 1, and 42 cents since May 19.
Since the overnight spike into May 6, gasoline has gone down 10.9% and diesel 9.6% in the ensuing 34 days. Each is improved yet pales compared to earlier spikes of 61.3% over 122 days for gas and 71.4% over 93 days for diesel.
Energy prices have been volatile since America and Israel on Feb. 28 launched Operation Epic Fury’s military strikes into Iran. A day before it started, the statewide norm for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was about $2.75 – up modestly from a low on Jan. 5 of $2.61.
The change from Jan. 5 to the overnight spike into May 6 was an increase by 61.3% for gasoline. Diesel shot up 71.4% from $3.39 on Jan. 5 to a state record $5.81 on April 7.
Declared a conflict won by the United States within hours of its start by second-term Republican President Donald Trump, Monday represented 101 days since it began – a three-month journey with hints of stoppage, ceasefires, extended deadlines, and a wedge further driven between political opponents both nationally and internationally.
Monday also represented Day 63 since the April 7 late-night word from Trump of a double-sided ceasefire; and Day 35 since Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a White House briefing said, “The operation is over.”
Israel and Iran each fired strikes at the other in the most recent 24 hours. The April ceasefire has yet to be solidified as an end to the hostilities, with America pressing to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
Last year, on June 22, War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.” A day later, Trump wrote on social media, “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire.”
Today, ships are not moving freely in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas. The reported rate of about 20 per day is higher than previous reports and well short of the 100 per day prior to Operation Epic Fury.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, June 1 was the beginning – through Sept. 15 – of the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 41.1 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 42 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Only six states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 17 are lower for diesel; and 20 plus the District of Columbia are lower in electric. Seventeen states have gone lower than $5 per gallon for diesel; 23 states are now under $4 for unleaded regular gasoline.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in the Fayetteville market at $3.50. The most expensive is the Asheville metro area at $3.97.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($4.78) in the Winston-Salem market.
North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is only less than California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
