Consumers Remember that Gas Prices are Still Up

Drivers are happy to see that gas prices are slowly starting to come back down, but they haven’t forgotten that the price of gas is still way above the prices of just a year ago.

According to AAA, although gas prices have fallen, fewer drivers fueled up last week. This leads experts at AAA to see a trend in driving habits as consumers cope with prices that doubled since 2020. This trend along with oil costs falling and fears of the looming recession have helped gas prices fall to a national average of $4.05.

 “Oil is the primary ingredient in gasoline, so less expensive oil is helpful in taming pump prices,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “Couple that with fewer drivers fueling up, and you have a recipe for gas prices to keep easing. It’s possible that the national average will fall below $4 this week.”

According to a AAA release, almost two-thirds of adults in the U.S. have changed their lifestyle or driving habits this year. The top two ways drivers have changed their habits are combining trips and just driving less.

AAA reports that the national average price of unleaded gasoline is currently $4.05 per gallon, which is 67 cents less than a month ago and 87 cents more than a year ago. Although this is good news for all drivers, people still haven’t forgotten that today’s lower gas price is still taking a huge bite out of their budget compared to just two and a half years ago. The national average in January 2020 was $2.50 per gallon.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story