AAA: Gas prices continue steady decline

Gas prices continued their decline closer to the $3.00 a gallon mark this week, supported by declining crude oil prices.

The national average price for regular grade gasoline dropped to $3.32 Friday.  This price is four cents lower than one week ago, 13 cents less than one month ago and 28 cents less than the same day last year.

The last time the national average registered less than $3.34 per gallon was January 22, when prices began a surge of 49 cents in 41 days toward a 2013 high of $3.79 per gallon on February 27.

Prices at the pump had been holding steady for the past few weeks before this week’s slight rollback.

“Despite the recent pause in the decline, AAA continues to expect that gas prices will fall even further approaching the end of the year,” said Martha M. Meade, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Sufficient supplies, flat demand and the shift to cheaper winter-blend gasoline, and barring a hurricane or other unexpected disruption to production and distribution, the national average is likely to fall to $3.10 to $3.20 per gallon by Christmas, which would be the lowest mark since February 2011.”

Motorists are likely to see gas prices drop closer to the $3.00 mark for the remainder of the year.  Prices at the pump declined significantly in recent months, despite crude oil prices remaining above the $100 threshold.  However, now that crude oil prices are dropping, analysts believe we could soon see gas prices drop to the lowest levels since the Arab spring in February 2011 when prices dropped to a national average of $3.20 per gallon.

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)