The summer season traditionally matches its intensifying outdoor temperatures with escalating gas prices, but not this year. Instead of breaking the bank at the pumps, motorists have been treated to unusually kind gas prices as the travel-heavy Labor Day holiday weekend nears.
As of Aug. 25, the average price was $3.43 per gallon, the lowest average since Feb. 26, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Survey. In fact, gas prices have fallen 6.5% since the start of the summer, USA Today said.
AAA added that the price is also the second lowest on record for this calendar day since 2010 when the national average was $2.70.
What has kept gas prices low? The nation’s ongoing energy boom, The Columbus Dispatch says.
The “rush of American petroleum” has led to the unseasonal drop in gas prices, the newspaper reported, adding that the U.S. produces more oil now than it has since 1986. Meanwhile, foreign oil imports have dropped to mid-1990s levels while oil refineries, which turn petroleum into gasoline and other fuels, run at near record levels.
USA Today agrees, observing that energy growth is helping improve America’s economy and security. They point out that, “It’s nearly impossible to overstate what a positive development this has been.” A simple way to sum up a very important concept.
Happy Labor Day!
