Fill 'er up, and pass the turkey. As Americans gear up for the Thanksgiving holiday, one thing motorists can be thankful for is lower gas prices. The national average for regular gas fell 9 cents the past week to $2.11 a gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said Thursday; that's the lowest it's been since early February. The national average has fallen 13 days in a row. Regular is 75 cents per gallon cheaper than it was at this time last year and $1.10 less than two years ago.
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A year ago, the average for regular was over $3 in a dozen states and the District of Columbia, and under $2.75 in 14 states. South Carolina claimed the lowest average price, $2.60. Currently, a gallon of regular gas averages less than $2 in 14 states, led by Missouri and South Carolina at $1.88. Average prices are over $2.50 in just three states: Nevada, $2.64; California, $2.76; and Hawaii, $2.86. Even in Hawaii motorists can give thanks that they're paying $1.09 less per gallon than a year ago. In Alaska, the statewide average has dropped $1.16 the past year to $2.41.
Low oil prices and a glut of supply continue to put downward pressure on pump prices at the same time Americans are driving less time as winter approaches. All of this has made predictions seem more likely that the national average for regular could drop below $2 by Christmas. U.S. oil was trading at around $40 a barrel on Thursday morning, compared with $74 a year ago, and the global markets so far haven't been spooked by last week's terrorist attacks in Paris.
"U.S. crude oil inventories continue to build, and according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, are within reach of hitting record levels set this past April," AAA said in a release. An increase in the number of U.S. oil rigs, AAA added, has "reinforced the expectation that U.S. production rates will remain high and keep the market oversupplied in the near term."
Pump prices fell in most of the country the past week, with the biggest declines in the central states as refineries that were undergoing maintenance returned to normal production levels, boosting the regional supply. Average prices fell by 17 cents in Illinois, 20 cents in Ohio, 21 cents in Indiana and 23 cents in Michigan and Missouri.
The national average for premium gas of $2.39 is 69 cents less than a year ago, and diesel fuel is $1.15 cheaper at $2.46. Regular gas was more expensive than diesel during August, but that was because gasoline was in high demand for the summer vacation season. Now, demand for gas is lower, but it is higher for the heavier oil used to make diesel. The heavier oil also is used to make home heating oil, which is still widely used in the Northeast.
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/1NgJmHV
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