Gasoline prices could fall below $3 per gallon before election

Leading analysts now expect the national average price to fall to $3 a gallon or less in the approaching weeks, which could remove a serious reason for voters’ fears.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum evaluation at GasBuddy, said a X-Post on Saturday that the value of gasoline within the US is currently $3.187 per gallon.

“We continue to head toward the $2.99 ​​mark and expect this to happen in October!” he wrote.

While the US average stays above $3, much of the country is already below that threshold. According to GasBuddy, Delaware and Iowa joined the club on Saturday because the sixteenth and seventeenth states.

Separate Data from AAA show that the national average price of gasoline is $3.217 per gallon, down 17 percent from a 12 months ago. Most states within the South and parts of the Midwest already pay lower than $3, including the important thing swing states of Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin. But in Nevada, one other key swing state, the value is $4 per gallon.

Lower gas prices have been a vital consider cooling inflation this 12 months. Consumer Price Index Report recorded an annual increase of two.5% last month, the fifth consecutive decline within the inflation rate and the smallest increase since February 2021.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices have fallen 24% year-on-year and at the moment are trading at around $72 a barrel. This comes as US oil production continues to hit latest record highs, while other crude producers corresponding to Guyana, Brazil and Canada are also increasing their production.

Global supply is simply too much for OPEC+ to balance, and it’s attempting to extend its production restrictions. At the identical time, China’s weakening economy means lower demand for crude oil. Wall Street analysts subsequently predict that the value of oil will rise to $60 a barrel.

“We could go into Election Day with gasoline prices close to $3 a gallon, taking off the table an issue that Democrats were worried about a few months ago,” says energy guru Daniel Yergin, vp of S&P Global. said CNBC on Friday.

However, he added that geopolitical concerns, corresponding to tensions within the Middle East, continued to influence oil prices.

Despite the drop in gasoline prices, opinion polls show that voters still trust Republican candidate Donald Trump more on economic issues than his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

Lower inflationary pressures are contributing to improving consumer sentiment. latest measurements from the University of Michigan rose to 69.0 in September from 67.9 in August.

The survey also found that inflation expectations for the approaching 12 months fell for the fourth month in a row, falling to 2.7 percent, the bottom since December 2020 and throughout the pre-pandemic range of two.3 to three.0 percent.

“Sentiment is now about 40% above its June 2022 low, although consumers remain cautious as the upcoming election continues to generate significant uncertainty,” Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s consumer surveys, said in an announcement. “A growing share of both Republicans and Democrats now expect a Harris victory.”