Gas drops for sixth week in a row amid spike in COVID-19 cases

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has declined for the sixth straight week as omicron cases continue to surge, according to GasBuddy. 

Prices dropped 2.9 cents from a week ago and are sitting just under $3.30 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data, which looks at price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.   

As of 1 p.m. Monday, prices are at $3.297 per gallon, which is the lowest level since Oct. 10, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told FOX Business. 

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Compared to a month ago, the national average is down 11.1 cents, although it's still $1.09 per gallon higher compared to this time last year. 

The surge in omicron cases has caused "oil demand, and thus oil prices, to stall," according to De Haan. 

West Texas Intermediate crude oil is trading at $67.22 per barrel on Monday.

De Haan projected that prices will likely continue to decline in most states across the nation this week and gas prices on Christmas may even fall below their all-time high of $3.26 in 2013. 

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In fact, "there’s a rising likelihood that we won’t see gas prices rising for the rest of the year," De Haan added. 

However, because gas prices in the Great Lakes states dropped by upward of 50 cents in some areas, "stations in those areas may raise prices slightly should oil prices slow their decline," De Haan said, adding that "aside from those areas, declines at the pump are likely to continue as we close out 2021."