Missouri drivers got an unwelcome surprise on Monday, July 20, 2026, when regular unleaded jumped 16.6 cents over the past week to a statewide average of $3.67 per gallon. The bump wiped out much of the recent relief at the pump and nudged Missouri closer to big-city price territory.
According to the Jefferson City News Tribune, using GasBuddy's survey of 3,940 Missouri stations, that $3.67 average is 16.6 cents higher than last week, 2.9 cents above last month and roughly 80 cents more than at this time last year. GasBuddy's data also put the cheapest station in Missouri at $3.15 per gallon on Sunday and the priciest at $4.59, a spread of $1.44. In the metro areas, both Kansas City and St. Louis are clocking in around $3.76 per gallon after week-over-week increases.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, warned that "the national average price of gasoline [is] likely to reach $4 per gallon within the next 48 hours" and flagged mounting diesel pressures too, as reported by Investing.com. He pointed to renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and strikes on Russian refining infrastructure as key drivers tightening global supplies.
Nationally, GasBuddy's numbers put the U.S. average at about $3.95 per gallon after a 13-cent weekly rise, while the national diesel average sits near $5.077 per gallon, down about 22.3 cents from a week ago, according to the Jefferson City News Tribune. The paper notes that GasBuddy compiles its figures from millions of individual price reports across more than 150,000 stations nationwide.
What's squeezing supplies
Behind the pain at the pump is a global refining system that still has not fully caught its breath. The International Energy Agency reports lower-than-normal refinery runs and disruptions in major export hubs that have kept product markets tight. Output curbs, damaged refineries and the uneven restart of Gulf export facilities, combined with rising summer demand, are making gasoline and diesel prices more vulnerable to geopolitical shocks, according to the IEA.
What drivers can do
Even with prices climbing, local gaps remain huge. GasBuddy shows stations at the low and high ends of the market nearly $1.50 apart, which means a little homework can still shave real money off a fill-up. Motorists can compare nearby listings using AAA's gas-price tools and GasBuddy's app for real-time deals, AAA Missouri reports.
Analysts caution that prices could climb further in the coming days if crude and product markets react to new geopolitical flare-ups, so summer travel budgets may feel an extra pinch. For now, Missouri drivers should expect more price whiplash at the pump and lean on local price apps before topping off the tank.
