Gas prices projected to dip lower in the coming days: analyst
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is about $3.41
Gas prices are expected to "tiptoe" lower in the coming days as "oil remains off its $85 highs," GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan told FOX Business.
Currently, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is about $3.41, according to GasBuddy data.
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Although the national average is about 1.8 cents higher compared to a week ago, De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, projects that prices will "start declining gently" now that oil prices are lower than their peak a few weeks ago.
Last week, oil prices fell under $80 per barrel after OPEC’s monthly meeting when the "cartel held firm" to raising November production by a slim 400,000 barrels per day, according to De Haan.
The fuel nozzle in a car at a gasoline pump at the Citgo gas station on Lancaster Ave in Reading, PA Monday afternoon September 20, 2021. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images / Getty Images)
West Texas Intermediate crude oil on Tuesday jumped to $83.70 a barrel, below last week’s $84 level, according to GasBuddy.
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"Should oil prices hold at these levels around $82," consumers should expect to see the national average of gas prices dip back under $3.40 per gallon later this week, De Haan said.
Prices might even fall back to $3.35 per gallon by next week, he added.
A gas pump is seen in a car at a Shell gas station in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2021. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
Still, prices are up 15.1 cents compared to a month ago and $1.31 per gallon higher compared to this time last year, according to GasBuddy data compiled from price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.
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However, De Haan doesn't project any large movement in prices as the Thanksgiving holiday nears, when more than 53.4 million people are expected to travel, according to AAA.
It's projected to be the highest single-year increase since 2005, AAA said.
"With President Biden still mulling over options to help push gas prices down, we could continue to see some volatility in oil prices," De Haan said. "I don’t immediately see a large decline or surge coming in the run-up to Thanksgiving, but U.S. gasoline demand does remain strong."