US fuel costs sink below $3 a gallon for first time since 2021

US fuel costs fell below $3 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2021, according to AAA.
The national average price for normal fuel dropped to $2.998 a gallon, down from $3.001 the earlier day, according to the fuel price tracker.
It was also down from $3.036 a month in the past and $3.05 this time last 12 months.
US fuel costs fell below $3 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2021, according to AAA. Getty Images
Low costs at the pump come as Americans have been overwhelmed down by sticky inflation and a weak labor market.
A survey from the Conference Board last week discovered consumer confidence plunged to 88.7 in November – down from 95.5 in October. That’s the lowest level since April.
Many voters in last month’s elections cited the cost-of-living disaster as their top concern as they elected Dems to workplace — socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in New York City, together with gubernatorial winners Mikie Sherill in New Jersey and and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia.
Recent weeks have seen President Trump tout his affordability agenda as Americans shell out more on everything from a cup of joe to plush sofas and kids’ toys.
State fuel price averages:
But on Tuesday, the average price of fuel dipped below $2.75 a gallon in 18 states including New Mexico, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Iowa and Colorado, according to AAA.
Gas costs dropped alongside oil prices as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, ramped up its manufacturing of oil – protecting provide larger than demand and sending a barrel of crude down to just $59 as of Tuesday.
The average price of fuel is below $2.75 a gallon in 18 states, according to AAA. AP
Some Wall Street giants are betting costs will keep low.
JPMorgan Chase analysts just lately predicted Brent crude oil, the worldwide benchmark, will drop into the low $50-per-barrel vary by the fourth quarter of next 12 months and down into the $40 vary by the end of 2026.
The “outlook worsens” in 2027 as a mounting provide surplus will sink Brent to just $42 a barrel and down to the $30 vary by the end of the 12 months, the analysts wrote.
It’s a sharp turnaround from early December 2022, when US oil costs had been roughly $81 a barrel.
In June, just a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine, fuel costs surged to their highest national recorded average price of $5.016 a gallon, according to AAA.
Trump campaigned on delivering decrease fuel costs to Americans during his second time period with a “drill, baby, drill” mindset prioritizing deregulation.
He also called for OPEC to ramp up oil manufacturing during a speech shortly after he was elected.
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