On Monday, average U.S. gasoline prices fell below $3 a gallon for the first time in three years, continuing bargains for consumers facing soaring inflation in recent years.
Fuel prices have been falling steadily since the end of the peak summer driving season, and prices of other goods and services rose in October, even as broad-based inflation showed signs of stalling. Nevertheless, it is contributing to boosting personal consumption.
The national average price of regular gasoline fell to $2.97 per gallon on Monday, the lowest price since May 2021, according to Market Tracker. gasbuddy.com.
Oklahoma's average retail price was the lowest in the country at $2.42 per gallon. The highest average price was in Hawaii at $4.48 per gallon.
The price of a gallon of gasoline has fallen steadily this year compared to last year as fuel demand growth slowed to a frenzied pace in recent years following the pandemic.
“It's been more than 1,300 days since the national average is this low and gasoline affordability is at its lowest non-coronavirus level since 2015,” said Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. You'll have to do the math.”
Further downward pressure on gas prices is likely to continue, with the national average potentially falling another 10 to 15 cents by Christmas, he added.
Product supplies of finished motor gasoline, whose demand is proxyed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, rose by just 11,000 barrels a day in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year.
Demand in 2023 increased by 115,000 barrels per day compared to 2022 levels.
Meanwhile, increased refining capacity in the United States and other parts of the world has improved fuel availability, softening some of the blow from global supply disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The dispute has pushed U.S. gasoline prices to record highs of more than $5 a gallon in 2022.
U.S. oil refining capacity increased for the second year in a row last year, EIA's annual update revealed earlier this year. Elsewhere, refining capacity is increasing with the opening of large new plants, including the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery in Nigeria and the 340,000 barrels per day Dos Bocas plant in Mexico.
