What's driving the reduced gas prices lately? November 2024 update
You may have noticed a little easing at the gas pumps lately. You aren’t imagining it—the prices are indeed lower. I have posted blogs and videos before on this subject where I talk about the most common reasons for fluctuations in gas prices. This article is going to focus on right now(Thanksgiving 2024) and what’s going on to help keep prices lower. As I’ve said elsewhere, the main reasons for changes in gas prices can change from event to event, so let’s talk about today.
According to AAA, gas prices are lower than a year ago. Look at the chart below. Average prices are lower than they were a month ago and a year ago. The average price in my state is $2.750, which is nice for us! Meanwhile, California is at Daily prices fluctuate, so it can be higher or lower day by day. That part is normal. If it changes by a few pennies then it doesn’t mean some major event is happening to affect prices.
The main reason for the lower pricing is because US oil production is at the highest point it has been since 2019. The more oil we produce, the lower the price of gas. The most current figure I have is from April 2024 which indicated we were producing 12.93 million barrels per day. You can check out more information here.
Some people would speculate that the optimism from the markets regarding the presidential election affects gas prices. I think that can play a factor, but not as big as our current production, as well as the other major factors I discuss elsewhere. Those are always the biggest players with gas prices. My reason for including that point here is because I don’t want everyone assuming the election is 100% responsible for the lower prices at the moment. It’s unusual for prices to be lower ahead of a major travel holiday, but they are…and we’ll take it!