The average price of gas dipped to $2.999 a gallon last Friday, the first time in more than 46 months it fell below the $3 mark, according to national tracking agency GasBuddy. The figure marks a 3.9-cent dip in nationwide prices from last week.
“We have been watching the average fall since June, a rare feat that we had predicted in our 2014 forecast, but to see the magnitude of the decline over the last month has been astounding,” GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in a press release. “This past weekend we witnessed the national average declining under $3 a gallon for the first time since December 22, 2010 — an impressive feat that seems to have caught many motorists by surprise.”
Gas prices in Indiana dropped almost four times more quickly than the national average. They fell 12.7 cents in the past week, which puts the statewide average price at $2.93 per gallon.
It is the latest milestone in the free fall of gas prices. The national average price is 33 cents lower than a month ago and 27.9 cents lower than at this time last year. More than 60 percent of the country’s gas stations offer prices under $3 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.
With Americans consuming about 368.5 million gallons of gasoline a day, the drop in prices equates to almost $108 million saved daily.
The decline stems from a steep fall in crude oil prices. The cost of West Texas Intermediate oil, which is used as a benchmark for international oil prices, has fallen to less than $80 a barrel. In November 2013, that figure sat at almost $91 a barrel, a 12-percent decrease in the past year.
DeHaan said international decrease is what sparked gas prices to fall.
“With the global decline of crude oil prices matched by the strong fuel production reported both in the U.S. and other major producers worldwide, this milestone became inevitable,” he said.
He added that nationwide prices could continue to decrease through the end of the year.
“That’s the question everyone’s asking, and we’re cautiously optimistic that the national average could fall further, perhaps by another 5 to 10 cents per gallon before year’s end,” he said. “If oil prices hold their current $80 level, gas prices may see their decline wind down, only dropping another few cents.
“But if oil prices can drop to $78 or less, we could see the national average decline for several more weeks. It’s hard to tell right now which way the market will go, since oil prices have halted their decline in the last week.”
