Gas Prices Fall For 7th Straight Week To $3 Per Gallon, Reaching 2021 Levels

The national average price of gas has fallen for the seventh straight week to $3 per gallon, the lowest level since May 2021. The price of gas has fallen slightly, 0.6 cents from last week, and is 23.2 cents lower than a year ago. 

According to data from GasBuddy, more than 100,000 stations now offer gas at $2.99 per gallon or less. The median gas price is $2.93 per gallon with the top 10% of stations averaging $4.16 per gallon and the bottom 10% of stations averaging $2.40 per gallon. 

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“Millions took to the road for Thanksgiving, and while some regions, like the Great Lakes, saw gas prices rise just in time for travel, most of the nation saw prices hold mostly stable or decline slightly as the national average remains near the lowest level we’ve seen since 2021,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. 

Oil Prices: Oil prices per barrel have held in a tight range in the upper $60s over the past week, as tensions continue between Russia and Ukraine, a tenuous peace deal in the Middle East, and economic slowdown in China, among other factors. 

Looking Ahead: OPEC members will likely consider extending the current production cuts for another month. However, there is some uncertainty ahead if President-elect Donald Trump increases sanctions on Iran, and potentially Venezuela, or adds tariffs on Canadian crude.

“While the potential impacts from tariffs are something to watch, they would have no effect until late January, if implemented at all. For this week, all eyes will be on the previously delayed OPEC+ meeting on Thursday. If they begin to restore oil production, oil prices could soften to the mid-$60s [per barrel],” De Haan said. 

Oil Investments: Investors looking for exposure to the oil market could invest in individual oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, ConocoPhillips COP and Chevron Corp. CVX. 

Commodity oil ETFs track the price of crude oil using futures contracts and include the United States Oil Fund USO which tracks the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil.  

Equity oil ETFs invest in stocks of oil-related companies with one popular example being the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE, which holds large-cap U.S. energy companies. 

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Photo: Engin Akyurt from Pixabay