Summer gas prices haven't been this low since 2021
Summer road trips appear to be safe from a big spike in gasoline prices.
The national average price of gasoline has hovered around $3.20 a gallon this week after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in a conflict that drew in the United States.
The price of regular gasoline as tracked by AAA was only a few cents higher than the national average a month ago, before Israel began its attacks on Iran in an attempt to set back that country's nuclear program. And it is more than 20 cents lower than a year ago.
The last time the cost for drivers was lower in late June was in 2021, when the pandemic depressed demand for the fuel. Gas prices are usually higher during the summer months, when demand rises as many Americans get in their cars for vacations and to see family.
AAA expects that travel for the Fourth of July, which this year falls on a Friday, will be record-breaking. Next week, 72.2 million Americans are expected to travel domestically. AAA projects that nearly 62 million of them will do so in cars, 2.2% more than in 2024.
'People are still prioritizing the travel itself,' said Kellan Howell, a spokesperson for the motor club. 'Taking vacations, taking those trips, is still really important to a lot of Americans.'
Oil prices, which play a big role in the cost of gasoline, jumped sharply after Israel attacked Iran, with the global oil price, known as Brent, jumping about 7%. But those prices fell this week and are more or less back to where they were before the attack. Brent closed around $65 a barrel on Thursday..
'Assuming the ceasefire holds, there's no resumption of conflict, the gasoline prices should remain where they are,' said Robert McNally, an energy adviser to President George W. Bush who is now president of Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington research firm.
'President Trump desperately wants to avoid an oil price spike and just close down the war,' McNally added.
Even with the sudden increase this month, oil is trading roughly in line with previous summers. This year, the cost of crude oil had been kept low in part because the OPEC+ oil cartel has announced plans to increase production.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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