A record-setting 43.2 million Americans are expected to travel by car this holiday weekend, according to AAA. That’s 2.4% higher than last Fourth of July. And yet gasoline prices are much lower. The national average for regular gasoline dipped to $3.55 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. A year ago, a gallon of regular sold for an average of $4.87 a gallon. That kind of price drop is almost unprecedented. During the week ending June 26, the average gas price was $3.
The smallest 12-month decline in gas prices was in the state of Washington, where the average is only down by 50 cents a gallon. Washington recently replaced California with the unwanted distinction of having America’s most expensive gas prices. Of course, consumers are still grappling with a high cost of living at the grocery store, when shopping for cars and paying rent. “Americans have been hit by so many other bullets.