U.S. gasoline fell below $4 per gallon for the first time since August, but the midterm elections weren’t the cause, a new GasBuddy blog posted on the company’s website on Monday outlined.
In its blog, Gasbuddy revealed that the nation’s average price of gasoline had fallen 15.9 cents over the last week and stood at $3.96 per gallon, according to its data, which it says is compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average was down 39.3 cents from a month ago but was still 92.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, GasBuddy pointed out.
“Gasoline prices fell in every state over the last week … and the national average dropped below $4 per gallon for the first time since early August,” Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, said in the blog.
“Many will assume the election had something to do with it, but that’s a myth. Gas prices have fallen in the 30 days leading up to the election every year since 2006 except 2010, and it’s typically seasonal: refiners finish maintenance and ramp up output just as demand fades with cooler weather,” he added.
“Those same forces, along with more oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, are why prices could stay below $4 in the weeks ahead,” he continued.
“That said, the election’s outcome may send a message to Washington to sharpen its focus on affordability, and I’d expect even more attention on bringing prices down. But for now, it’s the seasonal shift, not politics, driving the relief at the pump,” De Haan continued.
According to GasBuddy’s blog, the most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists was $3.99 per gallon, “unchanged from a week ago”. This was followed by $3.79 per gallon, $3.89 per gallon, $3.69 per gallon, and $3.59 per gallon, the blog revealed.
The median U.S. gas price was $3.82 per gallon, “down 17 cents from last week and about 14 cents lower than the national average”, the blog outlined, adding that the top 10 percent of stations in the country averaged $5.47 per gallon, while the bottom 10 percent averaged $3.16 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices comprised North Carolina, at $3.23 per gallon, Texas, at $3.38 per gallon, and Georgia, at $3.44 per gallon, and the states with the highest average prices comprised California, at $5.69 per gallon, Hawaii, at $5.56 per gallon, and Washington, at $4.96 per gallon, the blog showed.
The biggest weekly changes were seen in Michigan, with a 35.4 cent drop, Colorado, with a 31.2 cent drop, and Ohio, with a 29.4 cent reduction, the blog revealed.
Declining Price Trend
In its latest gasoline update, which was released on November 10, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a recent declining trend for the average U.S. regular gasoline price.
According to this update, the U.S. regular gasoline price averaged $4.296 per gallon on October 26, $4.153 per gallon on November 2, and $3.995 per gallon on November 9. The November 9 price was still $0.939 higher than the year ago price and $0.943 higher than the price two years ago, however, the fuel update highlighted.
Of the five Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) regions highlighted in the EIA’s latest fuel update, the West Coast was shown to have the highest U.S. regular gasoline price as of November 9, at $5.110 per gallon. The Gulf Coast was shown in the update to have the lowest U.S. regular gasoline price as of November 9, at $3.481 per gallon.
A glossary section of the EIA site notes that the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia are divided into five districts, with PADD 1 further split into three subdistricts. PADDs 6 and 7 encompass U.S. territories, the site adds.
The AAA Fuel Prices website also showed a declining price trend for U.S. regular gasoline.
According to this site, the average U.S. regular gasoline price is $3.9429 per gallon, as of November 11. Yesterday’s average was $3.9788 per gallon, the week ago average was $4.1239 per gallon, the month ago average was $4.3585 per gallon, and the year ago average was $3.0719 per gallon, the site highlighted.
The highest recorded average price for regular gasoline in the U.S. was seen on June 14, 2022, at $5.0165 per gallon, the AAA Fuel Prices site outlined.
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