While gasoline prices typically decline after Labor Day, local prices have dipped to their lowest level since 2010.
“The rapid and drastic decline in pump prices is rather atypical this time around,” said Martha Mitchell Meade, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “Gasoline prices are shadowing the sharp drop or backwardation in crude oil prices, which comprise approximately two-thirds of the price consumers pay for gas.”
According to Meade, this ends 1,409 days of gas prices over $3, the longest sustained period of high gasoline prices in the history of the United States.
“It’s long-awaited good news for American consumers and drivers, who naturally and mutually harbor a deep-seated aversion to paying sky-high gasoline prices beyond the $3 mark when it comes to getting us where we want to go,” Meade said.
According to the automobile club, the national cost of a gallon of regular gasoline has dropped 7 cents in the past week; it is 33 cents cheaper than a month ago, and 28 cents less expensive than the same time last year.
Locally, residents are seeing prices between $2.57-2.89 per gallon. The statewide average is $2.76, a 9-cent decrease over the past week and 36 cents lower than a year ago.
Energy analysts and economists believe these lower prices will likely fuel consumer spending and boost retail sales for gasoline.
This downward trend should continue for the foreseeable future.
“Absent any natural catastrophes, unfortunate or emergent consequences, or man-made factors, fuel prices will continue to fall, in all likelihood, as long as crude oil prices decline,” she said.
Residents can monitor local gas prices here.
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