Gas prices across the country have declined steadily in recent days with the national average per gallon at $4.52, AAA said.
According to AAA, since last week, gas prices fell 15 cents nationally. The decline that has been seen in recent days is due to a lower domestic demand for gasoline and a lower price globally for oil. Currently, AAA said that the cost of a barrel of oil is now in the mid-$90s which is down from $110 a few weeks ago.
“Global economic headwinds are pushing oil prices lower and less expensive oil leads to lower pump prices,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, in a news release. “And here at home, people are fueling up less, despite this being the height of the traditional summer driving season. These two key factors are behind the recent drop in pump prices.”
According to GasBuddy, the national average is down 47.9 cents from a month ago and is about $1.35 per gallon higher than last year.
“We’ve seen the national average price of gasoline decline for a fifth straight week, with the pace of recent declines accelerating to some of the most significant we’ve seen in years. This trend is likely to reach a sixth straight week, with prices likely to fall again this week. Barring major hurricanes, outages or unexpected disruptions, I forecast the national average to fall to $3.99/gal by mid-August,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a news release. “So far, we’ve seen the national average drop for 34 straight days, with over 25,000 stations now back at $3.99 per gallon or less, and thousands more stations will join this week. In addition, we will see several states fall back under an average of $4, the majority being in the south, but that could spread to more states in the weeks ahead.”
Gas prices currently in some states, according to GasBuddy:
- California - $5.885
- Florida - $4.232
- Illinois - $5.014
- Pennsylvania - $4.672
- Nebraska - $4.455
- New York - $4.661
- Texas - $4.03
- Utah - $5.05
AAA said per the Energy Information Administration that the decrease in demand and declining oil prices that has been contributing to prices going down. If this continues with the supply and demand, drivers will continue to see some gas price relief.