NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (TodayViralUSA) — The average price of gasoline in the United States has fallen below $4 a gallon for the first time since July, offering drivers their first real relief at the pump in months as crude oil prices slide on hopes for an end to the war with Iran.
The national average for a gallon of regular crossed below the $4 mark on Tuesday and stood at $3.94 on Wednesday, according to AAA. Prices have dropped about 40 cents over the past month, with much of the decline coming in the past two weeks, NPR reported.
Crude is the main driver
Analysts say the biggest factor is the falling price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, which has slipped to around $90 a barrel. More oil has been moving out of the Middle East, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has picked up, and traders have welcomed intensifying diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.
Brent spent months hovering around $110 a barrel after the conflict throttled the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war.
Seasonal help
The usual autumn factors are also at work. Americans drive less in colder weather, refineries finish their annual maintenance and add supply, and stations switch to cheaper winter-blend gasoline. This year regulators moved that switch up to Sept. 1, two weeks earlier than normal, citing war-driven prices.
“By Thanksgiving, so long as we don’t get any wild cards geopolitically, the national average could be $3.75 a gallon,” GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan told NPR.
Still far from normal
Despite the drop, gas remains at a record high for this time of year — roughly a dollar a gallon more than when the U.S. went to war with Iran. Diesel has fallen more slowly and averages about $6.15 a gallon, pushing up freight and heating oil costs.
The relief could also prove fragile. Jorge León, head of geopolitics at Rystad Energy, warned that renewed escalation in the conflict could quickly reverse much of the recent decline in oil prices. And a full return to prewar prices would require shipping, crude production and refining to recover across the global supply chain, a process analysts say could take months after a lasting peace deal.
The decline comes as overall inflation remains stubborn: consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than forecasters expected.
Sources & Credits
- NPR: Why is gasoline suddenly under $4 a gallon?
- NPR: Gas prices dip below $4 but inflation stays stubbornly high
- The Washington Post: Gas price falls below $4 for first time since July
Image: Gas prices sign in Fort Pierre, South Dakota (file photo) by Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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