AASHTO Journal, 7 November 2014
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.
On Nov. 3, the average U.S. retail pump price for regular gasoline sank below $3 a gallon for the first time since Dec. 20, 2010, the Energy Information Administration said.
The EIA said the average gasoline price, based on its Nov. 3 survey of fueling stations, was $2.993. It had widely been expected to breach that $3 level soon, since global oil prices have been steadily weakening with the world awash in supplies from the United States, Saudi Arabia and other major producers.
Prices for on-highway diesel fuel – mainly used by commercial trucks but also by a number of passenger cars and light trucks – also continued to sink. EIA data show the Nov. 3 average retail diesel price of $3.623 was the lowest since Feb. 21, 2011.
Some lawmakers and infrastructure investment advocates say the 2014 drop in motor fuel prices, to the lowest levels in years, gives Congress an opening to hike fuel taxes to bolster the Highway Trust Fund without consumers much feeling the impact at the pump.
Others say it is also a good time to index federal fuel taxes to some inflation measure, so that when prices eventually rebound the current per-gallon excise fees will capture revenue in keeping with rising costs of macadam and other materials used in highway construction.
Besides the EIA’s weekly fuel price survey, AAA said its daily snapshot also showed average gasoline prices sinking below $3 as of Nov. 1.
AAA predicted average gas prices could fall another 5 to 15 cents a gallon in coming weeks, “which could make for the cheapest Thanksgiving gas in half a decade,” and then could remain low in the winter ahead.
Oil prices fell further starting Nov. 4, after Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting prices for oil exported to the U.S. market, to compete with U.S. shale fuels.