U.S. Drivers About To See Gasoline Prices Drop

Drivers in the United States are getting a bit of a breather when filling their tanks, with the average price for a gallon of gasoline at the pump falls, with the national average down $0.15 per gallon in the United States year on year, according to AAA.

The current national average price for a retail gallon of regular gasoline is $2.721, compared to an average $2.873 per gallon a year ago. Prices are also down on the month and on the week. And even lower prices may be on the horizon.

“Down 8% yesterday, now recovering 2.5% this morning is WTI after Trump’s surprise tariff threat. National average may get close to or under its previous summer low of $2.65/gal soon” Gas Buddy’s Patrick DeHaan tweeted on Friday.

An earlier tweet advised consumers “not to rush” to fill their tanks.

The reason behind the drop in gasoline prices is falling demand, which is down 100,000 barrels per day on the week, and 300,000 barrels per day on the year, according to the EIA inventory report this week.  Another contributing factor in the falling gasoline prices is the drop in crude oil prices. WTI is trading at $55.30 per barrel, compared to $68.49 per barrel one year ago—a $13 per barrel difference.

Some states are faring better than others, though, with California being one of the unlucky ones. Not only is the state almost $1 per gallon more in California than the national average, the average cost of a gallon of gas in California is $3.681 today, an increase from a year ago, when it was $3.620.

Falling gasoline prices are great for Big Auto and not so great for Tesla, who rely on consumes to make buying choices largely based on their wallets—and nothing says “Hello, SUVs” like falling gas prices.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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