Florence, South Carolina – Across the United States, drivers are continuing to feel some relief at the gas pumps as prices continue their downward trend. Based on most recent AAA data, the national average price for a gallon of gas has dropped to $3.24, a six-cent drop from last week. This represents a notable decline from last year and highlights the ongoing trend of fuel prices dropping.
Within particular areas, the decline is much more noticeable. For instance, Myrtle Beach’s average gas price dropped to $2.71 per gallon, a significant 77-cent decline over the same period last year. Florence reflects this trend as the average price today is $2.77 per gallon following a 13-cent decrease over the past week.
As AAA notes, the primary contributors of these declining prices are lower demand along with declining oil prices. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) supports this analysis by noting a decline in gas demand from 8.93 million barrels per day to 8.47 million while gasoline reserves have grown from 219.2 million to 221.6 million. These elements help to explain the assumption that prices would keep declining, maybe reaching a national lowest point of $3 per gallon never seen since May 2021.
With the national average moving one penny, public electric vehicle (EV) charging has also somewhat changed in cost. With an estimated 1.2 million AAA members living in homes that own one or more electric vehicles, the acceptance of electric vehicles keeps rising despite this little increase. At public charging stations, the national average right now for a kilowatt-hour of electricity is 35 cents.
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AAA keeps a close eye on fuel costs as the situation changes to offer fresh analysis that guides consumers in making decisions. The landscape of fuel economics is still changing as oil and gasoline production numbers also change—gasoline production averaged 9.4 million barrels daily last week. The general trend toward lower fuel prices combined with variations in oil stockpiles and production rates leads to a possibly volatile market as the year goes on.
