Key facts
- AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $3.9788 a gallon as of early on November 10.
- Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy said the average could fall to $3.70 a gallon by Thanksgiving.
- De Haan said prices below $3 a gallon were appearing at stations in Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
- The US average diesel price was $6.1572 a gallon on November 10, against $3.7389 a year earlier, per AAA data cited by the report.
The US national average price of regular gasoline fell below $4 a gallon for the first time since mid-July, reaching $3.9788 as of early on November 10, according to AAA data. The average was $4.1493 a gallon a week earlier and $4.3669 a month earlier, and stood at $3.0707 a year earlier.
The report attributed the decline to lower international crude oil prices and a seasonal drop in driving demand, while noting the average remained about 20% above the seasonal norm. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said late on November 9 that the average could fall to $3.70 a gallon by Thanksgiving, and that prices "may sink beyond that if the geopolitical situation remains in balance."
De Haan said prices below $3 a gallon were appearing at stations in Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He said the national average had fallen almost every week since peaking at $4.494 a gallon on September 24, reaching $3.965 a gallon on the day he spoke, and would keep falling for at least the next week or few until finding a bottom, though geopolitical developments could still affect it.
The report said oil prices had fallen in recent days on renewed hopes that a diplomatic push could produce some form of agreement between the US and Iran. It said diesel prices remained elevated, with US average diesel at $6.1572 a gallon on November 10 against $3.7389 a year earlier, and fuel exports from the Middle East still substantially below pre-war levels.