Gas prices at lowest point in Kentucky since last Christmas
Published 12:27 pm Wednesday, December 6, 2023
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For the 11th consecutive week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has fallen, while in Kentucky, after peaking in the middle of August, it has now dropped to the lowest level since Christmas 2022.
According to GasBuddy.com, a website and mobile app that tracks fuel prices across the U.S. and Canada, the average price for regular gas in Kentucky stood at $2.91 per gallon, as of Tuesday afternoon. That is down six cents from a week ago, 14 cents cheaper than last month at this time, and 20 cents less than a year ago.
It’s a similar story across the country, where the nationwide average $3.21 price per gallon is down two cents from last week, 17 cents less than on November 5, and represents a drop of 15 cents compared to a year ago.
Drivers can blame the OPEC+ meeting for causing oil to jump early last week and then plummet late last week for the volatility in gas prices, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“The good news is that as the dust settled,” he pointed out, “OPEC+ agreed to barely move the needle, deepening their production cuts by an additional 900,000 barrels per day in 2024, with Saudi Arabia extending their own million barrel per day cut through March. However, that wasn’t enough to offset concerns of falling global demand.”
De Haan adds, the national average still could fall to $2.99/gal by the end of the year.
Looking back at the rise and fall of gas prices in Kentucky over the last year, $2.79 was the average price on Christmas Day, 2022. The last time it was lower than that was during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, when the lack of demand due to little driving saw prices fall to $1.39. That was the lowest price during the past 11 years, according to GasBuddy.
The price at the pump reached a peak of $3.62 on Aug. 16, 2023, during the heart of the summer driving season; and with just a few corrections, has steadily dropped since then.
To find the lowest gas prices in your area, go to kentuckygasprices.com.