Fuel prices have taken a big drop over the last several weeks which is welcome news for rural drivers. Analysts with GasBuddy say that there are several reasons why.
According to Patrick De Haan, “There’s been a lot of good news when it comes to what you fill up with. Gasoline prices have been declining. The national average has now declined for six straight weeks. Diesel has also seen a nice fall. So by all accounts, gas and diesel prices are both falling. Oil prices are the primary culprit. Oil prices have been trading below the $70 barrel mark. That’s because of economic concerns, not only in the U.S., as our economy slows down, but overseas in China, where their economy has been faltering. So, it’s a sign of a little bit of economic distress. It’s not all bad news, but that combined with an increase in U.S. oil production over the last couple of years, has pushed gas prices back closer to where they normally would be.”
De Haan points out there is no correlation between the upcoming election and fuel prices. He says that is often a big misconception that boils down to less demand.
Lower prices are good news with harvest heading into full swing. National averages from AAA show that diesel is at $3.59 a gallon. One year ago it was at $4.56.
