Pump prices are expected to continue their downward slope, possibly reaching a low not seen since 2009, according to AAA.
As of Monday, Oct. 19, the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline had fallen for 10 consecutive days, reaching a price of $2.26 per gallon, a low that gas station customers haven’t enjoyed since February 2015, and 55 cents per gallon less than the 2015 peak gas price of $2.80 on June 15, according to a report by AAA.
Customers are paying four cents a gallon less than last month, six cents less than last week, and a whopping 86 cents per gallon less than this time last year.
This time of year bring regional fluctuations in supply and demand, resulting from both planned and unplanned maintenance and if the fluctuations are severe enough, they can impact the national average. Following a high demand summer driving season that had refineries operating at higher than normal rates, AAA predicted a particularly heavy maintenance season for refineries this fall. But that doesn’t mean prices will spike. A surplus of domestic gas supply has kept pump prices to a minimum since Sept. 15, and unless the price of crude soars or unanticipated disruptions in supply occur, AAA noted the national average could even fall below $2 for the first time since 2009 before the end of the year.
South Carolina ($1.94) and New Jersey ($1.97) drivers are paying the nation’s lowest prices at the pump, and a total of five states are already posting retail averages below $2 per gallon. Hawaii ($2.90) unseated California ($2.88) as the nation’s most expensive market for retail gasoline.