MANKATO — For the past few months, the sight of a gas light flickering on your dashboard meant it was time for an expensive trip to the pump. Over the last two weeks, however, those costly gas runs have gone down in price.
The recent downturn in gas prices has provided drivers with some relief amid the soaring prices, but some Mankato residents think it’s not enough to make a noticeable difference in their spending at the pump.
AAA reported an average national gas price of $4.241, a decrease of 18 cents from last week at $4.426. In Mankato, the average price of regular gas had dropped from $4.248 to $3.967 on Thursday, letting drivers pocket an extra 28 cents per gallon.
Prices skyrocketed when a U.S. and Israel attack in February led Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes, said former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in an interview with the Harvard Kennedy School.
When the U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April, oil, and eventually gas, began to fall in price in anticipation of a lasting agreement.
“The decrease that we’ve been watching over the last couple of weeks has everything to do with the potential that there could be a long-term deal,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “That hasn’t panned out. It’s been rather elusive, and oil prices have started to go back up now in light of the fact that there’s been new escalations over the last couple of days.”
At the Kwik Trip on Monks Avenue, a steady flow of customers filtered through the station. Some came to grab a cool drink, others to put gallons of expensive gas in their cars.
Robert Carpenter, a Minnesota State University student, said he has to fill up his truck’s gas tank every week. The higher gas prices have complicated his budgeting.
“I can manage, but it’s definitely not ideal,” Carpenter said. “I live here, and I’m helping my mom with home projects in New Ulm and I have to drive to work downtown. It’s a lot of driving.”
Despite his frequent trips to the gas station, Carpenter had hardly noticed the slightly smaller numbers on the pump, more concerned by the still-pricey receipt in hand.
“When it gets to a certain point, you just think, ‘It’s high.’ You don’t pay attention to the small changes until it gets down to a lot lower,” he said.
Even with the decrease, gas prices remain at the highest point they’ve been over the past four years, according to AAA. April marked the first time since 2022 that the national average for a gallon of regular gas exceeded $4.
Whether prices are high or low, Mark Deichman, owner of Deichman Construction, treks to the gas station to fill his truck’s tank.
“We’re not gonna sit in the office just because of the gas prices,” Deichman said. “The world’s still going to go around, we still have to get our work done.”
To help ease the cost, he uses an app called Upside to get cash back on gas. He said he’s saved $474 from getting gas at participating stations.
Although gas prices are high across the board, De Haan said drivers can find ways to save, including going to locations offering slightly lower prices, or as in Deichman’s case, using cash-back apps.
Even with the decreases consumers are seeing today at the pump, De Haan said prices are likely to stay high until the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
“Gas prices that have been dropping may drop for a little while longer, but the concern is that the longer the Strait of Hormuz continues to be closed, the more gas prices could eventually start climbing again,” De Haan said.
Many Mankatoans are feeling this uncertainty surrounding the future of gas prices.
“I think what we’re seeing is clearly temporary until the conflict gets resolved,” Deichman said. “Is that going to be a week or month or a year? I don’t have any idea.”