Gas prices have dropped over the last week, with prices falling below $3.50 a gallon on average across the country in time for the July 4 weekend, according to NBC News.
This price drop won't prevent service station owners jacking up the prices to take advantage of the holiday travelers, but the latest empirical data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has found that gas prices have dropped to $3.496 a gallon, from $3.577 a gallon a week ago.
The EIA had forecasted a price drop in crude oil and refined petroleum products, the essential ingredients in the gasoline used in cars, in the coming months.
This is especially welcome news for drivers in the Midwest, who recently saw gas prices creep up as a result of problems with the local refineries, with prices reaching as high as $4.29 in some areas. In Michigan, prices are at an average of $3.409, according to the tracking service GasBuddy.com.
The lowest price of any region is in the Gulf Coast, which has close access to the oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico and numerous refineries, giving them an average price of $3.312 a gallon, according to the EIA, which is down from $3.377 a week ago. Some of the states with the country's lowest gas prices are Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, all Gulf Coast states.
At the other end of the spectrum is California, with an average price of $4.002, according to the EIA, or $3.958, according to GasBuddy. Either number puts California at the highest price for gas in the lower 48 states. The West Coast has the highest price overall, with an average of $3.892 when Oregon and Washington are figured in.
The national average is $3.478, down one cent from earlier in the week. The national average for the same week last year was $3.326.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
