Thanks to a report showing higher U.S. gasoline inventories brought about by increased refinery capacity (i.e. fixed refinery problems), the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has fallen nearly 3% during the past week and a half.
After hitting a record high of $3.24 on May 23, the price of gasoline has dropped gradually, and is now at $3.15 per gallon. Currently, there are nine states reporting average gas prices below $3 per gallon, which is up from only one (New Jersey) last week.
While these figures certainly aren’t exactly cause for celebration, they’re certainly not that bad, and are much better than what many people had predicted (myself included).
That being said, despite the recent drop in price, we’re still paying roughly 3.25% more for a gallon gas than we were just one month ago. Additionally, gasoline prices are still 10.5% higher than what we were paying exactly one year ago.
Currently there are still 15 states reporting average gasoline prices above $3.25 per gallon, with Hawaii reporting the highest average price at $3.44 per gallon.
Whether the recent price decline is a sign of things to come or is merely a pause before prices resume their upward climb remains to be seen. Either way, I don’t think many people are complaining.
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