United States: the price of gasoline continues to fall, a relief for Americans

Alexis Guilleux, edited by Ophélie Artaud 10:23 a.m., August 12, 2022

In the United States, the price of gasoline continues to fall.

It fell back below 4 dollars per gallon on Wednesday, which is equivalent to around 1 euro per litre.

A price that can obviously seem very low.

But over the last twelve months, Americans have had to face a 50% increase in the price of gasoline.

The current trend is therefore a real relief for consumers, but also for the White House.

Changing Driver Behavior

Prices have been falling for 58 consecutive days, which Joe Biden regularly reminds us.

For Washington, the subject is crucial three months before the midterm elections.

The hope now is to see prices fall in other sectors, such as food and housing.

Because of this record inflation, nine out of ten American drivers have changed their behavior on the road, according to the National Automobile Association. 

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"We are getting sales volumes from many gas stations across the country and when you look at last year you see a 5-7% drop in demand for gasoline. I believe people are driving less and even if you can't stop driving, you can change your habits," says an oil market analyst. 

Many experts expect this downward trend to continue, but gasoline prices are unlikely to return to their level of a year ago, as the situation remains fragile due to the volatile geopolitical climate, but also the capacities of American refineries which have not returned to their pre-pandemic level.

Finally, the country is entering the hurricane season, weather phenomena that can undermine crude production capacities in the Gulf of Mexico.