Gasoline prices falling below $2

Today’s Oklahoma gas price average of $2.07 has tumbled $1.46 since hitting its 2014 high of $3.53 on June 26. The state pump price has fallen for 55 straight days – plummeting 20 cents in the last week and 56 cents over the last month.

Oklahoma City has isolated stations selling E10 for under $1.70 today, the lowest prices of anywhere in the nation. In addition, the Tulsa metropolitan area has the lowest citywide average of any major U.S. city today, $1.935 per gallon, with Tulsa proper at about $1.87.

“Abundant global supply and sluggish demand growth have helped push the global price of crude down by more than $50 per barrel since June,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma. “Although crude oil prices have seen dramatic price swings in recent years, this year’s plunge has been even more extreme and has triggered speculation that production may slow in higher cost regions like the U.S.”

A number of countries depend on oil income to balance their economies, and sustained low prices could lead to civil unrest as those governments struggle to deal with lower revenue streams. At the close of formal trading yesterday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $1.87 per barrel at $55.26.

“Barring any disruptions in domestic production or unexpected spikes in the global price of crude, Oklahomans could see prices drop to a statewide average below $2.00 per gallon to ring in the New Year,” Mai said.

The national average price of gas has declined for 89 days in a row, the longest consecutive streak on record. Gas prices have fallen every day since September 25 to today’s average of just under $2.38, the lowest average price per gallon since May 21, 2009. The previous record for consecutive days of declining gas prices was 86 days, set in 2008 during the height of the Great Recession.

The current week-over-week drop of 15 cents in the national average is the largest such decline in more than six years. Motorists are paying 44 cents less than one month ago and 87 cents less than one year ago, which mark the largest declines for those spans since 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Comparatively low prices for retail gasoline are helping consumers save more than $450 million per day on gasoline compared to the highs earlier this year, which likely is having a positive effect on holiday shopping and travel. AAA estimates that 98.6 million Americans – including 893,000 Oklahomans – will travel 50 miles or more for the holiday season, the most on record.

The only states where the average price for gasoline remains above the $3.00 per gallon threshold are Hawaii ($3.58) and Alaska ($3.21). In the lower 48 states, drivers in the Northeast are paying the most per gallon, led by New York ($2.87), Vermont ($2.80), Connecticut and Washington, D.C. (both $2.77). The average price at the pump is below $2.50 per gallon in 30 states and motorists in Missouri ($2.05), Oklahoma ($2.07), Kansas ($2.14) and Texas ($2.15) are paying the least per gallon for retail gasoline.

Gasoline price averages for cities, states and the U.S. are available at www.FuelGaugeReport.AAA.com . More than 110,000 stations nationwide are surveyed electronically every day.