Gas Prices Fall Ahead of Fourth of July

Millions of people who will travel by car for the Fourth of July will benefit from much lower gas prices than last year.

The Details: The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.53 on Monday, down slightly from the previous week and roughly 27% lower than last July. A record 43.2 million Americans are expected to travel by car for the holiday, a 2.4% jump from last year, according to AAA. 

For Context: Lower prices are good news for consumers. But as oil prices fall amid worries that a global recession will hurt demand, some analysts expect the market to tighten and prices to jump again next year.

Key Quotes: "We believe prices are stuck in the near term as markets weigh concerns of an expected recession against global supply," said one Well Fargo analyst.

How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum framed the gas prices positively, while also mentioning how prices were much lower in 2020 and 2021, and how inflation remains high. Fox Business (Lean Right bias) said "Despite overall high gas prices, many Americans aren’t putting off summer travel this year." CNN Business (Lean Left) said the annual drop in gas prices "is the second-biggest one-year price drop in the week before the Fourth of July since EIA data began 33 years ago."