Gasoline prices continued their decline on Sunday, easing some of the burdens on American citizens who have been grappling with rising gas prices for the past several months.
“Average US #gasprices have now declined for the 26th straight day and are nearly 36c/gal lower than 26 days ago,” oil and refined products analyst Patrick De Haan said in a July 10 tweet. “National average $4.678/gal. Americans today will be spending >$135 million LESS on gasoline than they did on June 14. The most common prices: $4.39, $4.29, and $4.59.”
Tom Kloza, founder of Oil Price Information Service, expects to see the lowest price since May by Monday or Tuesday. In a July 7 tweet, he warned that “big bulk markets” are searching for the “2H22 launching pad” for gasoline, diesel, and crude oil, referring to the second half of 2022.
In a series of tweets on July 7, De Haan predicted gas prices at most stations to go down 1 to 2 cents every couple of days provided the oil prices do not reverse. He expects the trend to continue for “2-3 weeks or more.”
By this time, gas prices could possibly have dropped 35 to 60 cents per gallon, with the national average dropping to $4 to $4.25 per gallon by mid-August “if things do hold steady.” This is still nearly double the price of gas in February 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdowns, when prices averaged $2.442.
On July 11, a gallon of regular gas averaged $4.678 nationally, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), lower than the $5.016 per gallon record high set on June 14. In 10 states, average gas prices exceeded $5 per gallon, with the highest price in California at $6.088 per gallon and the lowest in South Carolina at $4.181 per gallon.
Hurricanes Could Bring ‘Apocalyptic’ Prices
According to a recent Gallup survey published on June 28, 67 percent of respondents said that current gas prices were causing them hardship, up from 52 percent in April. Amid a gradual decline and projected decrease in the coming days, there are still factors that could reverse the trend.“Major issues that could cause the decline [of gas prices] to end or reverse: sharp rise in oil if the market reverses given the large selloff, or a hurricane threatening the Gulf, or a major refinery issue,” De Haan said in a July 7 tweet.
Ed Hirs, an economist at the University of Houston, predicts gas prices to likely hit $6 per gallon by Labor Day. Natasha Kaneva, J.P. Morgan’s head of commodities research, foresees national average gas prices to rise to $6.20 per gallon by August according to Business Insider.
And in an interview with Fox Business last month, Kloza outlined a worst-case scenario, warning that gas prices could reach “apocalyptic” levels if a hurricane were to hit an oil refinery in the United States.
