The Leaves Are Falling…And So Is The Price of Gas

Cooler temperatures. Changing colors. Leaves cascade to the ground. Who doesn't love the sights of Fall? But something else 'falls' this time of year too. The price of gas.

In case you hadn't noticed, the price of gas has slowly decreased here in Iowa and across the nation. According to our friends at GasBuddy, the average price per gallon fell 2.9 cents this past week here in Iowa down to a statewide average of $3.51 per gallon. That's down 7 cents from last month. GasBuddy found that the cheapest gas in the state cost $2.99 per gallon with the most expensive at $4.49. The national average fell 4.7 cents this past week, down to an average of $3.72 per gallon.

So why the price drop? Some will tell you it has to be because of the elections coming up. But it is actually nothing more than simple supply and demand. NPR reports that there are two main factors right now causing gas prices to fall. One is the refinery situation in the United States. Last month there were outages at several refineries in the West and the Great Lakes that bumped up gas prices in many regions. Those refineries are now back online and production has caught up.

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NPR reports that the other reason that gas prices are getting cheaper is the fact that it is Fall. Americans start driving less when the weather begins to get colder. Demand goes down, so prices go down. Add those two factors and you have gas prices decreasing every day since October 11th.