RALEIGH, N.C. — Drivers across North Carolina are paying noticeably less at the pump now that the suspended state gas tax has worked its way into prices, with the statewide average dropping more than 35 cents a gallon in one week.
GasBuddy, which surveyed 6,092 stations in the state, put the North Carolina average at $3.57 a gallon on Monday. That is 35.3 cents below the week before and 55.8 cents below a month ago, though still 85.6 cents more than a year earlier, when the average stood at $2.72.
Charlotte and Greensboro each averaged $3.60, down 32.2 cents and 29.6 cents. Fayetteville came in lower at $3.44 after a drop of 39.5 cents. The cheapest station in the state was selling gas for $3.23 on Sunday, while the priciest asked $5.15.
The national picture is higher. GasBuddy said the U.S. average slipped 5.5 cents in a week to $4.24, while diesel climbed 5.2 cents to an average of $6.30 nationwide.
Lawmakers voted to suspend the state gas tax, and the measure became law on Friday, Oct. 9, but the savings did not show up right away. Stations first had to sell fuel already in their tanks, which they bought with the tax included, before restocking with untaxed supply. That lag meant it took about a week for the full break to appear.
The tax is worth 41 cents a gallon, but prices will not necessarily stay that much lower, because crude oil keeps moving. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said future prices will hinge in part on geopolitical events and oil markets, and that some states could see increases again if oil climbs.
The state gas tax is scheduled to return Dec. 1.
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