LOUISVILLE, KY (WHAS11) – As we get closer to summer and the travel season, we thought we would help you find the best days to fill up your tank and also the best days to avoid the lines.
Right now (May 7, 2018), the average price of regular unleaded is $2.69 a gallon in Kentucky, which is 42-cents a gallon more than a year ago.
Graphic provided by GasBuddy
A study by GasBuddy reveals that Monday is the day you’re most likely to find the Best-Priced gasoline at the pump, while Thursday and Friday are good days to avoid filling up.
Graphic provided by GasBuddy
Why?
Our colleagues at 11Alive in Georgia talked to GasBuddy’s Patrick Dehaan, who explains the price at the pump is not always as simple as supply and demand.
The price of crude oil drives the price you pay at your favorite gas station. Crude is a commodity that draws investors on the commodity market. Investments in oil futures, or the projection of the future price of crude, can impact the price on a daily basis.
Those investors take the weekend off, which allows the price of crude to settle. According to Dehaan, gas stations feel comfortable enough to lower prices at the pump. In many cases, the price is at its lowest by Sunday or Monday.
Thursday is the worst day to buy gasoline here in Kentucky. On Wednesdays, according to Dehaan, U.S. Energy Information System comes out with new data concerning the nation’s crude oil inventories. That announcement often influences prices, driving them upward by Thursday.
According to AAA, if President Trump decides to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, it will likely reinstate sanctions that would reduce crude supply and result in higher fuel prices.
