Falling Gas Prices Offer Pain Relief at the Pump

Thanks to weaker demand and a sharp decline in global oil prices, gas prices in the United States have come down noticably from their recent highs, offering some much-awaited pain relief at the pump. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price of one gallon of regular (all formulations) fell to $4.04 on August 8, down almost 20 percent from its June peak of $5.01. On August 11, the national average even dropped below $4 for the first time since March, according to data compiled by AAA.

Before the latest decline, gas prices had surged by more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year, leaving millions of Americans who rely on their car with unprecedented pain at the pump.

The previous record, dating back to July 2008, was first surpassed on March 14 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After the initial shock, prices briefly cooled, but as embargoes of Russian oil were put in place in the U.S. and later in the EU, prices started climbing again. The U.S. leadership, like the governments of other countries that are embargoing Russian energy, have been looking for alternative sources of fuel, but significant amount of surplus shipments have been hard to come by.