The national average price of gas has dropped 10.5 cents since last week and 2.7 cents in the last day, marking the 23rd straight day of declines, according to AAA and KABC-TV.
While many Americans are hoping for more relief at the pumps, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, is "optimistic" that the relief will be coming over the next few weeks.
"We’re on the cusp of seeing more savings," De Haan said, according to The Hill. "I’m trying to be a little bit optimistic here that this relief could make its entire way to the pump in the weeks ahead."
De Haan expressed his positive outlook on U.S. gas prices while gas futures dropped by more than 10% on Tuesday, U.S. crude oil prices declined by more than 8%, and international Brent crude decreased by almost 10%.
As of July 7, the national average for a regular gas was $4.752 per gallon, more than a 25 cents less than the record-high of $5.016 per gallon set on June 14. Over the last month, the national average for regular gas dropped by 16.7 cents.
KABC-TV added that prior to the current stretch of declines, prices increased by a total of 41.5 cents over 18 straight days of increases.
California is still home to the most expensive gas in the country at an average of $6.185 per gallon, while the lowest average is in South Carolina at $4.257 per gallon.
De Haan went on to suggest that Americans could see another huge drop in the price of gas over the next three to six weeks if the market continues its current trend.
"The average price per gallon could fall 40 to 65 cents over the coming weeks," De Haan said.
"Stations are getting lower prices already," De Haan added. "Prices could go down a penny or two every day or two for the next six weeks as long as nothing changes."
While gas prices have fallen over the past three weeks, they are still far away from what people were paying on average last year. The national average for regular gas was $3.137 per gallon at this time in 2021.
Phil Flynn, an energy markets analyst with the PRICE Futures Group, agrees with De Haan and believes that gas prices will continue to decline in the coming weeks. Although, he pointed out that the high prices are still affecting consumers.
"I think you’ll see gas prices come down," Flynn said in an interview with The Hill.
"We’re starting to see from the consumers, instead of paying $5 a gallon, they’re paying $4.80 a gallon — and isn’t that wonderful — but it’s also because they don’t have as much money in their pockets, and they’re not going out to dinner and to eat, so what we’re seeing is a pullback in demand. And that’s because people are feeling the pain of higher prices."
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