Gas Prices Fall Nearly 20 Cents — But Experts Are Unsure Whether the Trend Will Continue
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Average gas prices have fallen 19 cents across the U.S. and industry experts are weighing in on whether the trend will continue.
Lundberg Survey analyst Trilby Lundberg told ABC News that the recent price reduction at the pump could be attributed to a drop in crude oil prices.
According to the outlet, the average price of gas is currently $4.86 after the cost dropped 24 cents over the last month. But the price is $1.66 more than last year's average price.
"Assuming oil prices do not shoot up from here, motorists may see prices drop another 10-20 cents as the oil price cuts continue making their way to street level," Lundberg said in a statement, per the outlet.
Despite the current shift, OPIS global head of energy, Tom Kloza, told Yahoo Finance the drop could be short-lived, and consumers might see costs "rally after they find a bottom in the first half of July."
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The potential price increase depends on a few factors, Kloza says — the primary one being Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I think he's demonstrated his ability to invoke pain on Western countries and particularly in Europe — and he still has some buttons that he might push, and he's very unpredictable," said Kloza.
"Secondly, I think you've got the heat and the high temperature and perhaps the instability of some of the grids. But biggest of all is hurricane season. I think that's a really prevailing updraft for futures prices," he adds.
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U.S. President Joe Biden took credit for the relieving fall in gas prices on Friday, reports The Hill. In a press conference, Biden called for Congress to suspend the federal 18-cent gas tax for the next 90 days.
Biden also called on states to temporarily suspend the state gas tax –– subtracting potentially another 30 cents per gallon from totals at the pump. Governors in Connecticut, New York, Illinois, and Colorado have paused their gas tax.
"Gas prices, still way too high, have fallen now 25 days in a row, and this week we saw the second-largest single-day decrease in gas prices in a decade," the president said on Friday, according to The Hill.
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"There's a lot more work to do. But I am suggesting we're making progress. The program is working," he continued.
In April, gas prices went down to $4.27, marking the last significant fall since the price hike began earlier this year.
As previously reported, market instability amid Russia's war in Ukraine and resulting economic sanctions against Russia by the U.S. and its allies have placed pressure on international oil prices.
