Gas Prices In These 9 States Are Below $3

Gas prices in some states are now below $3, giving motorists more breathing room after a year of skyrocketing gas prices.

CBS News reported, citing a fuel price report from gas station finder app GasBuddy, that nine states have recorded gas prices below $3 a gallon:

• Texas: $2.87
• Mississippi: $2.92
• Oklahoma: $2.93
• Louisiana: $2.96
• Arkansas: $2.97
• South Carolina: $2.97
• Kentucky: $2.98
• Tennessee: $2.98
• Alabama: $2.99

According to Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, the decline in gas prices was due to the drop in crude oil per barrel cost.

"Some nine out of 10 states saw declines over the last week, so the drops are showing up for most across the country, with the exception of the West Coast as the transition to summer blends continues, and in the Great Lakes, where prices cycled last week but have now resumed declining," De Haan said.

On Monday, the national gas price average was recorded at $3.33 a gallon, a drop of more than 4 cents from a week ago, according to GasBuddy.

Diesel prices were also falling, with an average of $4.38 a gallon, down almost 8 cents from the previous week.

However, states such as Hawaii, California, Nevada, Washington, and Colorado were still reeling from the high cost of gas, with average gas prices above $4.

De Haan said that inflation data and the response from the Federal Reserve could determine how gas prices would fare in the spring.

"For the weeks ahead, tradition tells us to expect prices to move up eventually, but that could be at least partially offset by inflationary data that continues to be hotter than expected, leading to anxiety that the Fed will boost interest rates and cooling the economy and oil demand considerably," he said.

The previous year was difficult for motorists since it cost them more money to buy a gallon of gas.

In June, the average gas price reached $5.01 per gallon for the first time in history.

The surge in gas prices was prompted by several factors, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, concerns about a possible recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.

To bring down the high cost of gas, President Joe Biden released a total of 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

According to the Treasury Department, the drawdown from SPR, along with coordinated releases from international partners, has reduced gas prices by as much as $0.40 per gallon.