Gasoline prices fall below $4 a gallon in US for first time since July
AAA says the US average is about $3.98 as oil slides on Iran hopes. Why Pakistanis searched 'gasoline', and how the same drop reached petrol here.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has fallen below $4 for the first time since July, the motoring group AAA said on Tuesday, 10 November. AAA put the national average at about $3.98, down from a peak of around $4.56 earlier this year, CBS News reported. NBC News cited $3.97, and said the price had been $4.14 on the day of the midterm elections a week earlier.
Why prices are falling
Oil is the main reason. Brent crude, the global benchmark, had its biggest one-week fall since April 2020 last week, and briefly dipped below $90 a barrel on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump said the Iran war was “militarily effectively over”. Analysts also pointed to the seasonal switch: American filling stations move from summer-blend fuel to cheaper winter blends in the autumn.
Petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan predicted the average could reach $3.75 a gallon by Thanksgiving, on 26 November. NBC noted that analysts still see big risks in the oil market, so the fall could stall or reverse.
Why ‘gasoline’ was trending in Pakistan
“Gasoline” was the top Google search in Pakistan on Tuesday, because the US price is a quick signal of where world oil is heading. The same fall reached Pakistan within hours: the government cut petrol by Rs8 to Rs338 a litre and diesel by Rs7 to Rs371 from 11 November.
A quick comparison for readers: one US gallon is about 3.785 litres. At $3.98 a gallon, Americans pay a little over $1 a litre. Pakistan’s price in dollars is similar, but it is a much bigger share of an average salary here, and it includes a large petroleum levy that funds the budget.
Inflation still sticky
Cheaper fuel is good news for American households, but NPR reported that US inflation has stayed stubbornly high, which matters for Pakistan too: higher US interest rates keep the dollar strong, and a strong dollar makes imports, including oil, costlier for us.
The next test is whether oil stays below $90 as the Gulf situation develops.
