People across America are overjoyed that they can completely fill up their car at the gas station without having to worry about spending too much. Gas prices all over the nation reached prices lower than $3 per gallon last week. While a select few are outraged that gas has become cheaper than a gallon of milk, for the majority of Americans, people are thrilled to be saving money on gas.
In a statement released from AAA spokesperson Michael Green, he announced that gas has not been this cheap since 2010. He continued to say that 56 percent of gas stations in America are selling gas for under $3 per gallon, compared to last year when only 11 percent of gas stations were selling gas for that same amount.
Every year, gas prices drop due to the chilly weather outside and not as many people making road trips, but no one expected gas to drop as fast and as low as it currently is. This has people asking questions. Why is gas all of a sudden so cheap?
There are a few reasons why gas is cheaper this fall than in previous years. First, it has been reported that crude oil prices have been lowered. The price of a gallon of gasoline is determined by the price of oil, taxes, refining, and distribution costs. With the price of oil taking up two-thirds of the price of gas, when oil prices are lowered so does the price of gasoline.
Furthermore, it has been speculated that gas prices have dropped because of the amount of oil that America is collecting. America is removing more oil out of the ground than anytime since the 1980s. Senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeeHaan said, “We have all these sources of new crude oil in the U.S., and that’s adding to the global oil supply, which naturally pushes prices down.”
For many, this could not be more of a perfect time for gas prices to be dropping. With the holidays being right around the corner, many households may splurge a little extra this year simply because of the extra cents they are getting back on their gallon of gas.
Maddie Ball is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be areached at MB759377@wcupa.edu.