Gas Prices Fall to Lowest Levels in a Month
June 10th, 2007 | by Brian Carr |Thanks to a continued rise in gasoline inventories brought about by increased refinery capacity and reduced demand, gas prices are actually lower today than they were one month ago.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has fallen another three cents and now stands at $3.06, which is one cent lower than the national average gas price on May 10.
Unfortunately, gas prices are still about 6% higher than what we were paying a year ago.
There are now now 20 states reporting average gas prices below $3 a gallon, which is up from 14 states just three days ago. Delaware has the lowest average price at $2.85 per gallon, while Hawaii continues to have the nation’s highest average gas price at $3.50 per gallon.
While this current price drop is certainly a welcome sight, it will be interesting to see how prices fluctuate throughout the rest of the summer, especially if a major hurricane were to blow through the Gulf Coast area.
Because much of the recent run-up in the price of gasoline can be attributed to problems at refineries, any new and potentially major refinery problems could cause gas prices to not only resume their upward trend, but to shoot through the roof. Considering Hurricane Katrina caused gas prices to jump over 15% in the matter of a couple of days, another major storm, or several smaller ones, could easily push the national average gas price above $3.50 per gallon.
But let’s hope that doesn’t happen, and that gas prices continue their downward trend.
