The COVID-19 pandemic is labeled as the cause.
Towson, Md (KM) AAA Mid-Atlantic says gasoline demand has dropped to the lowest level in four months, and that means gas prices are also falling.
Ragina Ali with the auto club says demand usually goes down during the fall as the summer driving season comes to an end. But she says Americans didn’t do a lot of driving during the summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We typically see demand drop in the fall months anyway following the summer. Certainly, COVID-19 is a factor. People are driving less,” say Ali.
But she says consumers do not have to worry about gasoline inventories. “The US has a very healthy level of gasoline stocks due to the lower demand which is obviously keeping prices low,” she says. “We expect that the majority of states have cheaper gas prices compared to last month, and that downward trend at the pump is likely to continue in the remainder of the fall.”
Ali was asked if travel could pick up later this year with the holiday period, when many people who like to visit with the families and their friends. “We certainly expect that while some people travel and probably will travel, that’s obviously a personal decision for families to make,” she says.
AAA says the average price at the pump in Maryland as of Friday, October 30th is $2.25 per gallon, a three-cent drop from the previous week, and 21-cents less than a year ago at this time. In Frederick, the average price at the pump is $2.20 per gallon, three cents less than the previous week, and two-cents less than this time last year.
The national average price at the pump is $2.14 per gallon, a two-cent decrease from the previous week, and a four-cent drop from last year at this time.
By Kevin McManus