Motorists see happy new year as pump prices fall
Houston-area drivers can welcome the new year with gasoline prices significantly lower than a year ago.
Average gasoline prices on Sunday fell to the lowest level of 2018, down 29 cents a gallon from the end of 2017, according to GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks gasoline prices across the country. A gallon of unleaded gasoline in Houston averaged $1.90 a gallon, down 4 cents from a week ago and 23 cents from a month ago, as motorists continue to benefit from the retreat in crude oil prices.
Oil prices have plunged 40 percent since October, to about $45 a barrel from more than $76.
Nationally, gasoline prices averaged $2.25 a gallon, down about 7 cents over the week. Gasoline prices across the country have fallen an average of 21 cents from a month ago and 24 cents over the year, according to GasBuddy.
How much lower prices may go is unclear, according to GasBuddy’s analysts. The production cuts announced few weeks ago by OPEC go into effect in January. But oil prices have nonetheless fallen 15 percent since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed in early December to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day.
While the plunge in crude prices is raising concerns in Houston, where the oil industry drives the local economy, it is benefiting U.S. consumers. GasBuddy estimates that lower gasoline prices have saved American motorists $250 million every day compared with 80 days ago, according to GasBuddy.
“With the plunge perhaps continuing for another couple weeks, many motorists have been asking how long this trend will continue into 2019,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in a statement. “The answer is that it’s complicated but possible summer gas prices won’t be anywhere near this low.”
The highest average price in Houston in 2018 was $2.70 per gallon on May 30, according to GasBuddy.