Drivers win, drillers lose as oil prices approach $50 a barrel

As oil prices fell by a third in the last two months, drivers saw gas prices plunge and energy companies got nervous — nail-bitingly nervous as the price per barrel approached $50.

Geopolitical uncertainties and unprecedented increases in supply have have pushed down oil prices. That’s meant savings at the gas pump and extra money in the pockets of U.S. drivers at just the right time — holiday season.

Motorists are saving $200 million a day due to a nearly 50-cent drop in gasoline prices since the beginning of October, according to Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for gas-price tracker GasBuddy.

Drivers aren’t the only ones benefiting from lower pump prices. Logistics companies such as UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service are seeing some of their highest demand for shipping this month, DeHaan said, and spending less on fuel will sweeten their bottom lines.

In San Antonio, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline plunged from $2.53 a gallon on Oct. 1 to $2.06 a gallon on Dec. 1. GasBuddy data shows that gas prices fell below their 2017 averag- es for the first time in 2018 earlier this month.

Global energy markets have been roiled by the recent political uncertainty with Saudi Arabia, which is in international diplomatic hot water over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. At the same time, President Donald Trump has called on the Saudis to keep production high to ensure lower domestic gas prices. On Friday, the oil cartel Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC and Russia agreed to cut production to 1.2 million barrels a day at a meeting in Vienna.

Meanwhile, oil production in

Jerry Lara / Staff photographer Fabien Soto, 39, gasses up at MLK Food Mart. According to GasBuddy, the average price for regular is $2.05 in San Antonio.