An industry analyst says the chances of the national average of regular gasoline falling below $4 per gallon in the following weeks are increasing.
Even though it is practically "impossible to tell what will happen," GasBuddy's head of petroleum research, Patrick De Haan, told FOX Business that the odds are growing, though, that we are moving back under $4 per gallon for the national average.
Gas Prices Rollback May "Easily Change"
According to De Haan, though, this might easily alter owing to oil price volatility. Oil prices, and hence gas costs, will be influenced by several things, including whether or not COVID-19 cases continue to rise internationally and whether or not the war in Ukraine continues.
The situation could easily change, but we're getting closer to the point where we could see the national average #gasprice fall back under $4/gal in the weeks ahead. It's definitely not guaranteed, but we're in the ballpark.
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) March 28, 2022
Over the weekend, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline steadied, and as of Tuesday, it was $4.24. Prices have been rising since the beginning of the year, owing to tight supply and rising demand. However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February pushed oil prices even higher, reaching levels not seen in almost a decade at the pump. Oil is now falling due to discussions between Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, if the number of COVID-19 cases in China continues to rise, it will cause additional lockdowns and demand destruction for oil, lowering prices, as per De Haan. However, if the number of instances drops, oil prices would rise, thereby raising pump costs in the United States.
The United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics issued the Consumer Price Index Summary for February at the beginning of the month, detailing how the gasoline index had increased by 6.6 percent, with inflation reaching 7.9 percent.
The national average was $4.25 last week, a one-cent decrease, but analysts say any improvement is welcome. According to AAA, drivers in Georgia witnessed the most change at the pump, with prices falling 17 cents in the previous week to an average of $3.95 per gallon.
Drivers in Nevada, on the other hand, saw their costs rise by 13 cents to an average of $5.25 per gallon. At $3.76 per gallon, Missouri has the lowest national average for petrol, while California has the most at $5.92 per gallon.
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All of the current costs are far more than they were a month ago, let alone last year at this time. In February, the national average was $3.61, but in March 2021, it dropped to $2.86, as per Audacy via MSN.
Despite some businesses' unwillingness to participate, members of Congress will have the opportunity to question a half-dozen oil and gas executives next week about record-high energy costs.
BP America, Chevron, Devon Energy, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Shell USA will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 6 on record-high gasoline prices.
The session is anticipated to be contentious, with Democrats accusing the CEOs of ripping off customers by taking advantage of rising oil prices. The oil executives' readiness to participate comes just hours after the House Natural Resources Committee announced that Devon Energy and two other energy firms had declined invitations to testify at a separate hearing on April 5, according to Washington Times.
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