With the price of a gallon of gas dropping week by week, will motorists be seeing gas fall below $2 per gallon soon?
Most likely.
An average gallon of regular unleaded fell to $2.05 Wednesday, more than a $1.20 cheaper than a year ago, according to AAA. Earlier this week, AAA said that the price could drop below $2 per gallon before the end of January.
“Drivers in the U.S. are paying the lowest average gas prices in nearly six years, and the national average is likely to slide below $2 per gallon before the end of the month,” said AAA Oregon/Idaho Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds.
The Oregon average falls nine cents to $2.23 a gallon. Both the U.S. and Oregon averages are at their lowest prices since April 2009, said Dodds. The price of a gallon of gas in Hermiston is below $2.20.
Pump prices are directly connected to the global price of crude oil, with crude costs accounting for more than half of the price of gasoline. Like pump prices, crude oil prices have also posted multi-year lows due to global supply outpacing demand, which has kept downward pressure on the price of crude and ultimately meant hefty discounts in retail gasoline for U.S. drivers. Since June 2014, West Texas Intermediate crude has lost more than half of its value, falling from $107 to below $50 per barrel.
The national average has dropped a record 117 consecutive days, for a total a savings of $1.29 per gallon during this stretch. The Oregon’s average has declined for 56 days in a row, falling 82 cents during this time.
Drivers in 25 states are paying averages below $2 per gallon; up 18 from one week ago. For the second week in a row the midcontinent region features the nation’s least expensive states for retail gasoline, led by: Missouri ($1.76) and Oklahoma ($1.80). Hawaii ($3.31) remains the only state with an average above $3 per gallon, and is joined by Alaska ($2.82) and New York ($2.50) as the nation’s only states posting averages at or above $2.50 per gallon.
Drivers in 48 states, including Oregon, and Washington, D.C. are saving more than $1 per gallon compared to a year ago, while only the nation’s most expensive markets Hawaii (-69 cents) and Alaska (-83 cents) are outside of this trend. The steepest declines are in Illinois (-$1.37) and Michigan (-$1.36).
Hawaii has the most expensive gas in the country for the 117th consecutive week at $3.31, followed by Alaska at $2.82.
Diesel prices are also falling and both the national and Oregon averages are less than $3 a gallon. The national average loses a dime to $2.89 a gallon. Oregon’s average plunges 12 cents to $2.74.
