US Gas Price Dropped 6 Cents for Major Holiday

US Gas prices have dropped in time for the significant Holiday driving season, but not everyone around the country is feeling the same relief at the pump. Fuel prices were one of the critical factors in U.S. inflation that soared to multi-decade highs in October, dampening President Joe Biden’s popularity and sparking calls for investigations into potential fuel market manipulation.

The U.S. is the biggest consumer of gas worldwide, and more than 100 million Americans will hit the roads this Holiday season. Some prices peaked at $3.42 a gallon. The average retail price of U.S. gasoline has been retreating, now down 11 cents at $3.31 as of Friday.

November’s peak was not an all-time high for retail gasoline, but the 60% increase from the year-ago coronavirus-affected trough was still alarming. In Michigan and Indiana, the average retail price is now down more than 25 cents. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Michigan is currently $3.152, down 23 cents from a month ago.Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum fuel analysis at GasBuddy, speaking about prices in Michigan said that seeing how some stations posted prices 60 cents lower while others only fell about 15 cents, you can tell there was some profit taking.

In the west coast, where crude oil supply to U.S. refineries was affected by historic flooding in British Columbia earlier this month, prices have hardly moved.The average price of gas in California as of last week was $4.67 a gallon, only two cents per gallon less a month ago. In Oregon, it was $3.774 a gallon, just one cent cheaper than a month ago.The main reason gasoline prices are lower has been the falling price of crude oil, which makes up more than half of the price of gasoline.