Gas Prices 2015: Fuel Drops To 99 Cents A Gallon In Ohio, Causes Traffic Jam

It's official: You can fuel up for less than a dollar in the United States. Or, at least, you could have at one BP gas station in Youngstown, Ohio, where the owner of a refurbished station briefly dropped the price to 99 cents a gallon on Thursday morning -- half the average price of gasoline in Ohio -- as a promotion to celebrate his establishment's recent makeover, WWJ reported. The sale appeared to be a success, because all morning gas-hungry consumers jammed the streets around the station. By Thursday afternoon, the owner of the station told reporters he planned to raise prices.

"Today is our official grand opening, and we take advantage of the low cost of gas and pass it right on to customers," the manager of the station, Ike Omarin, told WFMJ. "Made a few bucks in last few days, and today using that to pass along to customers."

Across the street, another station was selling gas for $1.96 a gallon. The national average was about $2.53 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The Midwest has experienced a recent drop in gas prices due to the reopening of an Indiana refinery that had to close for repairs earlier this month. But prices nationwide could continue decreasing over the next few months, potentially falling under $2 by Christmas, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskoski wrote in U.S. News and World Report.

The low prices were one reason why the 2015 Labor Day weekend was expected to be the busiest driving holiday since 2008, when 45.2 million people took to the road. AAA predicted that more than 35 million Americans would drive a minimum of 50 miles away from their homes over the upcoming three-day weekend. National gas prices were due to reach their lowest level since 2009 -- about 86 cents less than this time last year, according to an AAA statement.