Gasoline has dropped below $3.00 per gallon for the first time since last winter. The price in Tulsa tumbled to $2.99 for self-serve regular unleaded.
Most drivers around the country are paying the lowest gas prices in more than eight months due to abundant gasoline supplies, the end of the summer driving season, lower oil costs and the switchover to winter-blend gasoline. Supply and demand is working in most consumers’ favor with consumption down and gasoline stocks more than 10 percent higher than a year ago.
“To be honest, gas prices could drop another 25 to 30 cents per gallon to the cheapest averages of the year barring significant refinery problems or higher oil costs,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma. “Averages in as many as five to ten states could drop well below $3.00 per gallon, but there is a floor to how low the national average can go given the very high cost of crude oil.”