Gas prices just dipped below $4 for first time in over five months - good news for consumers {8.
The national average for a regular gallon on Thursday was $3.99, according to AAA.
Prices have fallen 15 cents over the past week and 68 cents last month, according to the Automobile Club.
The national average on Wednesday is already down to $3.98, according to shopping app GasBuddy.
The national average for gas has not fallen below $4 since early March. Prices hit a plateau at $5.02 a gallon on June 14, according to AAA. They declined slowly over the rest of June and then began to decline more rapidly. states pay close to that amount. The least gas is Texas and several other states in the South and Midwest.
A year ago the national average price was about $3.20 per gallon.
Today, lower prices for gasoline, airline tickets and clothing have given consumers some relief, but inflation is still close to a 40-year high.
Oil prices began to rise in mid-2020 as the economy recovered from the initial shock from the pandemic . They rose again when the United States and its allies announced sanctions on Russian oil over the Ukraine war.
However, oil prices have recently fallen around the worlddue to concerns over slowing economic growth. US benchmark crude has fallen from above $120 a barrel in June to close to $90 a barrel recently.
Rising prices may also be driving less for US drivers. Gasoline demand in early August fell 3.3% from the same week last year, after coming even closer to 2021 figures earlier in the summer.
Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Ellen Wald told CBS News: We may enter a global recession and prices may fall.
Heading into November's midterm elections .
Republicans blamed President Biden for rising gasoline prices. , took advantage of his decision to revoke permits for major pipelines and suspend new oil and gas leases on state-owned land.
Biden said last weekend that a family with two cars could save $100 a month as prices fell from their peak in mid-June. “It's a room to breathe,” he tweeted. criticized for not producing the maximum amount of "Exxon has made more profit than God this year," he said in June.
Exxon said oil production had increased. Chevron's CEO said Biden was trying to smear the industry.
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