When will gas prices go down?
The damage done by Hurricane Harvey caused three major oil refineries in Texas to shut down, closing out more than 10% of the country’s oil output capacity. Since then, gas prices have spiked.
It’s simple math — the less amount of oil available for consumer use, the higher prices will be as this product is in higher demand. The price of a gallon of gas soared 32 cents over two weeks due to the oil shortage
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However, this price has been edging down slowly, with the average price reaching $2.65 per gallon around the nation, according to AAA. Prices are expected to continue dropping as these refineries are producing as much oil as they possibly can.
“Prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. “We need a lot of feathers to catch up with the rocket ship.”
Kloza adds that you shouldn’t expect gas prices to drop dramatically from one week to another. Instead, prices are expected to fall steadily throughout the year, falling to $2.25 per gallon by around Christmastime.
About half the country is expected to be paying under $2 a gallon by Christmas, Kloza adds. Whatever the case may be, now would be a good time to find alternative ways of transportation and save that cross country trip for the holidays.
