Gas Prices Dropping, Could Hit $2 a Gallon
Gasoline prices are expected to drop sharply this month, and may approach $2 a gallon in much of the country by the time winter’s chill arrives.
Normally, pump prices are flat or even up a bit in August as Americans finish up the summer holidays with a road trip before sending the kids back to school. This year, however, the AAA Motor Club anticipates a drop of 15 cents or more in coming weeks, on top of what already has been a sharp drop from this year’s peak.
“In many ways, it’s a very simple prediction, based purely on the (price) decline in crude oil,” said Michael Green, an AAA spokesman.
Conflict in the Middle East, a disruption to U.S. drilling or a refinery outage could always push up oil prices, thus reducing the chances that gasoline will fall as predicted.
“On the other hand, if oil prices continue to fall and operations continue to run smoothly, you could see even larger drops in (the gasoline) price,” said Green.
How large?
“Many parts of the country could see gas prices near or below $2 a gallon by (the last week of December),” he said. “The states that are most likely are in the southwest and central United States, places where gas is already cheap.”
South Carolina and Alabama led the nation Tuesday with the cheapest average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, at $2.26, followed closely by Mississippi and Ohio, both at $2.30.
Motorists in California and Alaska paid the highest prices, respectively, at $3.71 and $3.48 a gallon. The national average Tuesday was $2.64 a gallon, down sharply from $3.50 a gallon a year ago.
Gasoline prices are falling even as Americans are driving at what appear to be record levels. The Federal Highway Administration’s most recent update on vehicle miles traveled shows that through May, motorists in the United States had logged 1.26 trillion vehicle miles of travel — a record for the first five months of any year.
The agency predicts that Americans for the year will travel 3.08 trillion vehicle miles. That would be a record, slightly edging out the vehicle miles logged in 2006.
There’s another reason to expect lower prices: U.S. oil and gasoline supplies keep growing even as demand across the globe wavers.
China’s unexpected economic slowdown has lowered demand for oil, as has the prolonged economic weakness across Europe and even in big emerging markets such as Brazil. It all adds up to weak global demand, even as the U.S. motorists and boaters drink up more fuel.
Crude oil traded between $99 and $102 a barrel in late July 2014. Late last month, the price wavered between $48 and $49 a barrel.
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AAA’S FUEL GAUGE REPORT
Gas prices by state on Aug. 4, 2015:
California $3.715
Florida $2.502
Georgia $2.492
Idaho $3.000
Illinois $2.622
Kansas $2.512
Kentucky $2.406
Missouri $2.447
Mississippi $2.300
North Carolina $2.465
Pennsylvania $2.719
South Carolina $2.262
Texas $2.447
Washington $3.173
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Gas prices by city:
San Luis Obispo, Calif. $3.922
Fresno, Calif. $3.461
Merced, Calif. $3.443
Modesto, Calif. $3.296
Sacramento, Calif. $3.322
Fort Worth, Texas $2.416
Boise, Idaho $2.998
Raleigh, N.C. $2.453
Charlotte, N.C. $2.493
Miami $2.627
Bradenton, Fla. $2.497
Kansas City, Mo. $2.407
Wichita, Kan $2.391
Biloxi, Miss. $2.281
Bellingham, Wash. $3.147
Olympia, Wash. $3.160
Tacoma, Wash. $3.159
Yakima, Wash. $3.124
Columbia, S.C. $2.227
Myrtle Beach, S.C. $2.244
East St. Louis, Ill. $2.724
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