Will Charlotte drivers find relief at the pump now that the price of oil has fallen?
The price of oil dropped Monday despite the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe. Following nearly two weeks of rising gas prices, could this finally mean the American drivers will get relief at the pump?
Oil prices have seen a dramatic surge since the war in Ukraine grew more severe. After Russia’s continued attacks on various cities and regions around Ukraine, President Joe Biden banned the import of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal in response.
Although Biden had initially been against severe sanctions on Russia, continued destruction and a rising death toll eventually led him to impose the ban on Russian imports. Since then, gas prices skyrocketed past numbers not experienced in more than a decade. Now, despite the ongoing situation, oil prices are beginning to stabilize.
On Tuesday, there have been no dramatic changes in the average cost of gas per gallon, but that’s not to say the average cost of gas isn’t starting to climb back down. AAA reports that the cost of a barrel of oil has fallen from $123 per barrel to below $110.
As a result, there’s been a temporary break in the daily surge of gas prices but not by much. The national average cost of gas per gallon (regular grade) dropped less than a cent today, from $4.32 yesterday to $4.31 today.
In North Carolina, the current average cost of gas per gallon is $4.17, a little more than 1 cent less than Monday’s average of $4.18. The current average is in stark contrast to gas prices in North Carolina at this time last year which averaged around $2.67, according to data from AAA.
It’s unclear how long the halt in rising gas prices may last or whether oil prices will remain on the decline.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:22 PM.
