US average gas price falls to $4.39 as Iran ceasefire talks progress
The U.S. average price for regular gasoline fell to $4.39 per gallon on Friday, down 16 cents over the past week, as the U.S. and Iran neared a possible deal to extend the ceasefire, according to AAA. Prices remain far above the roughly $3 per gallon Americans paid just before the war began. Analysts caution that a quick return to pre-war levels is unlikely due to tight global markets and the potential for renewed conflict.
The U.S. average price for regular gasoline fell to $4.39 per gallon on Friday, down 16 cents over the past week, as the U.S. and Iran neared a possible deal to extend the ceasefire, according to AAA.
Prices remain far above the roughly $3 per gallon Americans paid just before the war started. The drop is the largest weekly decline of the year, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, posted on X.
Oil prices have been trending lower since mid-May, pulling retail gasoline down with them. However, analysts caution that a quick return to pre-war levels is unlikely due to tight global markets and the potential for renewed conflict.
"Following the clearance of any mines, a minimum of two to three months will likely be required to re‑establish steady export operations," the International Energy Agency said in its mid-May oil market report.
U.S. gasoline inventories fell again in the week ending May 22 and are 6% below the five-year average for this time of year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday. "Gasoline storage has been down for 15 weeks in a row at a time of year when refiners usually stuff the motor fuel into storage in anticipation of summer driving season," Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA said in a note Thursday.
President Trump said he wanted Congress to suspend the federal gas tax. "It's something we might talk about. Let's see what happens over the next week or two weeks. A lot of good things are happening," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.