Retail prices for gasoline in the United States have fallen below the key $4 per gallon mark for the first time in months, industry data showed on Thursday after record high fuel prices in mid-June prompted drivers in the world’s largest oil consuming nation to exercise more discretion in usage.
The average pump price for gasoline across the United States was at $3.99 per gallon, the American Automobile Association (AAA) said on its website. In mid-June, the average pump price reached an all-time high of $5.01.
The AAA said earlier this week that Americans are “changing their driving habits to cope with higher pump prices.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said prices could keep dropping for the next five to 10 days.
He, however, added that the price drop was likely to stall at between $3.70 and $3.80 as crude oil prices have started to bounce from their recent lows.
The imminent start of the North Atlantic hurricane season in the United States could also disrupt energy production and supplies in the coming weeks, he said.
A barrel of US crude oil was hovering at around $93.50 a barrel in New York futures trading on Thursday after falling to as low as $87.01 last week. In early March, a barrel traded as high as $130, its most in 14 years as sanctions imposed on major energy exporter Russia over the Ukraine conflict upended global oil supplies.
