July 4 gas prices lowest since 2005

Road trippers may be heading a little farther than usual this July 4 weekend.

The national average price of $2.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded is the lowest headed into the holiday weekend since June 27, 2005 when the price was $2.22 a gallon, according to numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The administration calculates an average gas price every week, using prices taken Monday at 8 a.m. This year’s record figure was calculated based on prices from June 26.

Typically prices spike in the summer, but that trend has not held up this year. Prices are lower than they were over the New Year’s weekend, when they averaged $2.31.

Gas prices Thursday morning were even lower in the Kansas City metro area, according to AAA Auto Club of Missouri.

The Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area was seeing average prices of $2.03, while the Kansas side averaged $2.11, said Mike Right, AAA spokesman. Both of those numbers are about 10 cents lower than they were last year.

Missouri’s gas tax rate is among the lowest in the nation, at 17 cents a gallon. In Kansas, the state tax stands at 24 cents a gallon.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 4:26 PM with the headline "July 4 gas prices lowest since 2005."