As Summer Heats Up, U.S. Gas Prices Cool Off

USA Today reported that gas prices have plunged to their lowest July level in 12 years, according to AAA, even as Americans are racking up more miles.

In fact, gas prices have dropped in 39 out of the last 40 days, lopping 20 cents a gallon off in total during that span, according to AAA.

“Gas is getting cheaper as we’re moving into the busiest part of summer travel,” AAA spokesman Michael Green said. “Those are real savings that add up…And we’ve seen that cheaper gas prices are motivating people to drive more and to take long trips this summer.”

World “petro-politics” is the cause. Leaders in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s top oil producers, have held down prices to dampen production in other nations, including the resurgent oil industry in the U.S.. “It’s their goal to maintain their market share and to have the price where it is now so that they can have long term success in the future,” Green said.

In the U.S, the outlook for the rest of 2016 is for even cheaper gas, partly because of the change in seasons. Prices typically fall as the summer wraps up and vacationers head for home.

Article excerpted from RVBusiness.com.