Which Day of the Week Is the Cheapest to Get Gas?

CARS.COM — Garfield might hate Mondays, but that could be the best day to find cheap gas at your local filling station. (That’s Garfield the cartoon cat. We’re guessing former U.S. President James Garfield hated Saturdays.) A new report from GasBuddy finds the first day of the business week has the lowest average gas price. Thursday, by contrast, is the priciest day for filling up the tank.

Related: Gas Prices 15 Percent Higher Than a Year Ago

Gas prices remain historically low, but with pump station prices up 15 percent versus a year ago, motorists could use the advice. GasBuddy analyzed three years of fuel-price data to find Monday the best day of the week across the country for gas purchases. Specific states may vary, however: In 2016, for example, 36 states had the cheapest gasoline on Monday, while Tuesday won the cheap-gas title in eight states.

Sunday is also a good day to buy gas on the cheap, the website says, while Saturday is the opposite. Neither days are as extreme as Monday or Thursday, but GasBuddy says they’re also noteworthy. Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at the site, said in a statement that rising gasoline prices toward the weekend could stem from a midweek report by the Energy Information Administration that influence subsequent fuel prices, particularly if the data is unexpected. Petroleum commodities trading relaxes over the weekend, meanwhile, which prompts gas stations to let fuel prices slide into their Monday lows, DeHaan said.

Hey, maybe Mondays aren’t so bad after all.