Gas prices fell to just under $4 for the first time in more than five months — good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essential products.
AAA said the national average for a gallon of regular was $3.99 on Thursday.
Prices are down 15 cents in the past week and 68 cents in the last month, according to the auto club.
Shopping app GasBuddy reported that the national average had already dropped to $3.98 on Wednesday.
The national gas average hasn’t been below $4 since early March. Prices hit $5.02 a gallon on June 14, according to AAA. They declined slowly for the rest of June, and then began to decline more rapidly.
Motorists in California and Hawaii are still paying above $5, and other western states are paying close to that. The lowest gas is found in Texas and several other states in the South and Midwest.
A year ago, the national average price was about $3.20 a gallon.
Now, falling prices for gas, airline tickets and clothing are providing some relief to consumers, although inflation is still near a four-decade high.
Oil prices began to rise in mid-2020 as economies recovered from the initial shock of the pandemic. They rose again when the US and its allies announced the end of sanctions against Russian oil Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Recently, however, oil prices have fallen due to concern slowdown in economic growth around the world. Benchmark US crude has recently fallen to nearly $90 a barrel from more than $120 a barrel in June.
High prices may also cause American motorists to drive less. Gasoline demand in early August was down 3.3% from the same week last year after hovering closer to 2021 figures in early summer.
Ellen Wald, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CBS News: “We’ve seen some of what we call ‘demand destruction’ — people choosing not to buy gas because it’s so expensive. The recession could drive prices down. “.
Prices at the pump are likely to be a major issue mid-term elections in November.
Republicans blame President Biden for high gas prices, seizing on his decisions to cancel a permit for a major pipeline and suspend new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
Mr. Biden said at the weekend that a family with two cars is saving $100 a month because prices have come down from their peak in mid-June. “This is breathing room,” he tweeted. “And we’re not stopping anytime soon.”
Mr. Biden has also taken on oil companies, accusing them of not producing as much oil and gasoline as they could while making huge profits. “Exxon made more money than God this year,” he said in June.
Exxon said it has increased oil production. Chevron’s chief executive said Mr Biden was trying to vilify his industry.
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