A dip in gas prices comes despite demand for gasoline last week reaching the highest level of the year at 9.18 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). That’s an increase of 300,000 barrels a day from the previous week and the highest seen for an early March week since 2020.
But the stronger domestic demand wasn’t enough to keep petroleum prices from falling alongside stocks and commodities as uncertainty about tariffs and trade injected volatility into markets last week. Global demand is also weighing heavily on prices, particularly because OPEC+ production increases are expected to begin in April. Last week, the International Energy Agency forecasted that global supply will exceed demand later this year, which could keep a lid on crude prices and lead to cheaper gasoline.
The other factor keeping prices down is strong supply. Domestic inventories of gasoline are about 7 million barrels above where they were in the comparable week of last year and about 3 million more than the five-year average, according to the EIA. It’s a similar story in the Northeast: 65.3 million barrels are in storage, compared to 61.1 million last year and the 62 million five-year average.
“As more Americans took to the road last week, they enjoyed markedly lower gas prices this year than last,” said Jillian Young, director of public relations for AAA Northeast. “In the Northeast, for example, average prices are more than a quarter lower than they were last year.”
AAA Northeast’s March 17 survey of fuel prices found the current national average down a penny from last week ($3.08), averaging $3.07 gallon. The national average price was 9 cents lower than a month ago ($3.16) and 39 cents lower than March 17 last year ($3.46).
| Region | Current Price* | One Week Ago | One Month Ago | One Year Ago |
| Connecticut | $3 | $3.03 | $3.08 | $3.35 |
| Massachusetts | $2.95 | $2.99 | $3.03 | $3.24 |
| New Jersey | $2.90 | $2.95 | $3.02 | $3.24 |
| New York | $3.11 | $3.13 | $3.17 | $3.36 |
| Rhode Island | $2.91 | $2.93 | $3 | $3.21 |
*Prices as of March 17, 2025
Mississippi and Texas had the lowest prices in the nation this week, at $2.63 and $2.65 respectively. California and Hawaii held the highest prices in the nation this week at $4.65 and $4.51, respectively.
The AAA Gas Prices website is your resource for up-to-date fuel price information. Search for average gas prices on national, state and metro levels by regular, plus, premium and diesel.
