The average gasoline price in the region decreased for the 69th time setting the lowest price since March 5 to $5.271, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The price of gasoline in the region has fluctuated with highs and lows, like a yo-yo, but the most recent report is $1.102 lower since the last reported record high of $6.373 on June 15. According to the AAA, the average price is 3.6 cents less than one week ago and 42.7 cents lower than one month ago, but 93.1 cents more than one year ago.
The national average price dropped for the 72nd consecutive day since rising to a record, decreasing a half-cent to $3.878. It has dropped $1.138 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, including nine-tenths of a cent Wednesday.
Although President Joe Biden ordered the release of about 1 million barrels of oil a day from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in March, that was responsible for about 15 cents of the declining prices over the past 10 weeks, according to CNN. The news outlet also reported that the US oil and gasoline prices have been lowered by a rising dollar, which increased 12 percent compared to the Euro since Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The AAA and Oil Information Service said that stable global oil prices and modest domestic demand for gasoline led pump prices to decrease.
“We need to keep an eye on the weather as hurricane season arrives. These storms can affect prices by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson.
AAA finds that drivers are making significant changes to cope with high pump prices. In a recent survey, almost two-thirds of U.S. adults say they have changed their driving habits or lifestyle since March. Drivers’ top two changes to offset high gas prices are driving less and combining errands.
