US gas prices slide 2 cents to $4.14 a gallon
The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States fell nearly two cents Saturday to $4.14, according to data from AAA. It was the biggest one-day drop since December 2023.
Oil futures, which influence the price of gasoline, have plunged since Tuesday’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war in Iran and plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
But even as oil futures on Wednesday had their largest daily decline since the height of the pandemic in 2020, it could take a while for retail gas prices to return to near pre-war levels. Analysts say it is likely to take one or two weeks for the national average to dip below $4 a gallon, and months for it to fall to its pre-war level of $2.96 a gallon.
There is still uncertainty as to whether the Strait of Hormuz has truly been reopened and the roughly 20% of the world’s oil trapped in the Persian Gulf will again flow into global markets. That uncertainty lifted oil futures in trading early Thursday.
A short time ago, the US announced that two Navy vessels are beginning the process of clearing mines from the strait.
Big picture: While relatively little oil from the Persian Gulf states reaches the United States, which is the world’s largest oil producer, the lack of that oil since the start of the war has roiled global commodity markets, driving up the price of crude and gasoline. Gasoline prices rose steadily until the combined three-cent decline the last two days.
By Faig Mahmudov
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