GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan discusses national average gas prices being a dollar below what they were last year.
Gasoline prices have dropped for motorists across most of the country leading into what’s slated to become a record weekend for holiday travel.
As of Friday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is hovering around $3.54, down four cents from a week ago, according to the latest data from AAA. However, it’s $1.31 lower than this time a year ago.
It is also well below last June when the national average surpassed $5 per gallon, which was a new record high for gas prices. Some states even faced prices as high as $6 and even $7 per gallon.
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GasBuddy projected that motorists will collectively save $2.6 billion on gas between June 30 and July 5 compared to the same period last year with the lower prices.
A gas pump is filling up a vehicle at a Chevron gas station on December 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
This can be seen as a welcome relief for the over 43 million people expected to drive to their destination over the holiday weekend, which is an increase of 2.4% over 2022 and 4% higher than 2019, according to AAA.
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AAA spokesperson Andy Gross cited flat demand and lower oil prices as contributing factors to keeping prices down.
Prices are displayed at a Mobil gas station in West Hollywood, Calif., on March 8, 2022. ((AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) / AP Newsroom)
“Demand has been flat, and the global price of oil has been struggling to stay around $70 per barrel, which is somewhat low,” Gross told FOX Business.
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This means that drivers should continue to see prices drift lower for now. However, he did caution that there will be “some pain points.”
“The Pacific Northwest, especially Washington state, has been experiencing high prices and we can’t predict with certainty when those prices will start to fall,” Gross added.
