AAA: Decline in Gas Prices Will Not Last
After hitting a 2018 high of $2.61 two weeks ago, filling up now averages $2.53 a gallon nationwide.
Prices at the pump have steadily declined the past two weeks with the national average now at $2.53, according to AAA's latest weekly tally, released Tuesday.
After hitting a 2018 high of $2.61 on Feb. 5, motorists in nearly every state are paying less than a week ago, with those in the Midwest and South experiencing the largest price drops, the motorist club said. Hawaii and Indiana were the exceptions, with gas rising 2 cents a gallon in the former and a penny in the latter.
“The question isn’t how low will they go, but how long will we see prices decline,” Jeanette Casselano, director of public relations at AAA said in a statement. “A handful of major refineries are undergoing maintenance. If production slows at a high rate and/or if crude oil prices jump, these events could push pump prices back up in late February or March.”
Even if prices continue to drop, AAA doesn't expect the decline to be significant or long-lasting. As Casselano told The Drive: "prices will trend more expensive in 2018."
Tuesday’s national gas price average is four cents less than one week ago, one cent more than a month ago, and 25 cents more than a year ago.
The biggest monthly drop came in Michigan, where a gallon of gas cost 19 cents less, followed by Illinois and Ohio, where it's 13 cents lower, and then Kentucky, where motorist are paying 10 cents less than in January, according to AAA.
Gas is cheapest in four states, running $2.27 a gallon in Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama.
