Palmetto State drivers are seeing the lowest gas price so far this year, declining trend expected to continue

Charleston, South Carolina – For the first time since the start of this year, South Carolina drivers are paying less than $3 per gallon of gas on average, and the declining trend is expected to continue at least until the end of the year.

Gas prices have been volatile this year, and the several-week declining trend comes as a huge relief for drivers nationwide after a gallon of gas reached record-high prices during the summer months.

Industry experts predicted that the major oil producers would cut oil production further in the coming weeks to reduce supply amid low global oil demand, but OPEC+ members decided to maintain current production levels during their meeting this past weekend.

There are several reasons for the downward gas price trend. Lockdowns in China seem to be the major reason for low oil demand globally, as millions of people are locked at home as a result of China’s zero-Covid policy. Another major factor that negatively impacts the demand is the fear of a possible recession that is very likely to happen some time next year, which would further cut the demand for gas.

Industry experts believe that prices will further go down, and Americans will most likely see lower prices by Christmas.

“For the first time in 670 days, the national average price of gasoline has fallen below its year-ago level, dropping for the fourth straight week to its lowest level since January,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy said. “Every state has again seen average gasoline prices drop in the last week, and it remains very possible the national average could fall under $3 per gallon by Christmas.”

GasBuddy surveys 3,028 gas stations across the state of South Carolina. Per their report, the average price for a gallon of gas last week dropped to $2.98, which represents the lowest price this year. Gas prices in Palmetto State fell 10.6 cents from the previous week.

The current average gas price is 23.4 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 3.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The most expensive gas in South Carolina was priced at $3.69 per gallon last week, while the cheapest was $2.65 per gallon. The national average gas price is now $3.36 per gallon, which is 15.8 cents less compared to the week before and 43.0 cents per gallon less than a month ago.

For more information and more detailed reports, please visit GasBuddy’s website.