Oil less than $3/gallon; How much for milk?

The sight is so surprising that Americans are sharing photos of it: The gas station sign, with a price of $2-something a gallon.

“It’s stunning what’s happening here,” says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. “I’m a little bit shocked.”

The national average price of petrol fell 33 cents to end-October at $3 a gallon and dipped Saturday to $2.995, according to AAA.

That marks the first time in four years that gas has been cheaper than $3 a gallon (3.8 litres).

When the national average crossed above $3 a gallon in December of 2010, drivers weren’t sure they’d see $2.99 again. Global demand for oil and petrol was rising as people in developing countries bought cars by the tens of millions and turmoil was brewing in the oil-rich Middle East.
Now demand isn’t rising as fast as expected, drillers have learned to tap vast new sources of oil, particularly in the US, and crude continues to flow out of the Middle East.

Seasonal swings and other factors will likely send gas back over $3 sooner than drivers would like, but the US is on track for the lowest annual average since 2010 — and the 2015 average is expected to be lower even still.

Trisha Pena of Hermitage, Tennessee, recently paid $2.57 a gallon to fill up her Honda CRV. Like many around the US these days, she was so surprised and delighted by the price she took a photo and posted it on social media for her friends to see.

“I can’t remember the last time it cost under $30 to put 10 or 11 gallons in my tank,” she said in an interview. “A month ago it was in the $3.50 range, and that's where it had been for a very long time.”

Here are a few things to know about cheap gas

— Crude prices came off the boil. Oil fell from $107 a barrel in June to near $81 because there’s a lot of supply and weak demand.
US output has increased 70 per cent since 2008, and supplies from Iraq and Canada have also increased. At the same time, demand is weaker than expected because of a sluggish global economy.

— In the past, a stronger economy in the US, the world's biggest consumer of oil and petrol, typically meant rising fuel demand. No longer. Americans are driving more efficient vehicles and their driving habits are changing. Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute calculates that the number of miles travelled per household and gallons of fuel consumed per household peaked in 2004.

— The drop from last year’s average of $3.51 per gallon will save the typical US household about $50 a month.

— The drop will save the US economy $187 million a day, and also boost the profits of shippers, airlines, and any company that sends employees out on sales calls or for deliveries.

— It will take an extra 1.5 years to make purchasing a higher-priced, better-mileage Toyota Prius instead of a Toyota Corolla pay off.

— New York's average of $3.365 is the highest in the continental US South Carolina and Tennessee are the lowest, with an average of $2.74.

— Petrol is cheaper than milk again. In September the national average price of milk was $3.73 per gallon. The annual average for milk is on track to be more expensive than the annual average for petrol  for the first time since 2011. The gap is even bigger for some bottled water lovers.

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