Pump prices falling back below $3.00 a gallon level
You may be noticing that it’s getting cheaper to fill your vehicle’s gas tank again. On Friday, for the first time in a while, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline in DeSoto County dropped below $3.00 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
On Sunday, the county’s average price of gasoline was $2.981 in DeSoto County. The Mississippi average price was also nearing the $3.00 a gallon mark at $3.011 a gallon. Nationally, the average is $3.54 a gallon. All have been falling over the last few weeks.
The Deep South and the Southeast, outside of Florida, is where the lowest prices in the country are located. Mississippi’s $3.011 average is actually the lowest average in the country, according to AAA, followed by Texas at $3.066. Louisiana drivers pay an average of $3.111, Alabama is at $3.122, followed by Tennessee ($3.129) and Arkansas ($3.135).
The western United States, Alaska and Hawaii is where the highest pump prices are found. California drivers pay $4.824 a gallon, Hawaii is next at $4.777 and Arizona drivers pay an average of $4.694 a gallon.
On Thursday, AAA said fears of a global economic recession were behind the falling pump prices. The price for oil dropped nearly $20 per barrel recently, now in the upper $60s, which has triggered the drop in pump prices.
“The oil market volatility is leading to lower prices,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “And we are also in a pre-summer driving season lull regarding domestic demand. These two factors should keep pump prices drifting lower for now.”
Gas demand also was reduced last week, as expected by market observers.
The national average of $3.57 is seven cents a gallon more than a month ago, but it is 65 cents a gallon less than a year earlier.
DeSoto County News reports the daily gas averages on its DeSoto County Newsletter email, which you may subscribe to with your email address at the link at the bottom of this story. It also contains a link to the lowest gas prices in DeSoto County, as reported by GasBuddy.com.
