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US average gas price falls below $4 a gallon for first time since July

AAA puts the national average at $3.98, still about 30% above its level before the US and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28.

13 news outlets reported this
Liberal5 outletsFalling prices tied to Iran war and midtermsCenter1 outletAAA credits dipping crude oil for falling pricesConservative7 outletsPrices fall after Trump's Iran signals, inflation persists
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

The average price of regular gasoline in the United States fell below $4 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July, according to AAA. The motor club put the average at $3.98. The drop follows a slide in oil prices.

crude futures fell 13% in one week and briefly dropped below $90 a barrel on Tuesday. On Monday, President Donald Trump said "Iran militarily is effectively over" and that the US is keeping the status quo. Gasoline is still about 30% higher than before the US and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, when the average was $2.98.

Diesel stays above $6 a gallon, at about $6.16. Seasonal factors also help. Stations can sell cheaper winter-blend fuel, and driving demand has cooled.

Patrick De Haan of the fuel-tracking firm GasBuddy expects prices to keep easing toward Thanksgiving. The Labor Department reported the same day that consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than forecasters expected. Republicans lost both chambers of in the Nov. 3 , and Vice President JD Vance wrote that the war was the reason.

Key figures
  • $3.98national average for a gallon of regular gasoline Tuesday, per AAAThe Epoch Times
  • $2.98average gallon of petrol on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel first struck IranAl Jazeera English
  • 13%one-week plunge in oil futures, as the New York Post reports itNew York Post
  • $6.16diesel price per gallon, as the New York Post reports itNew York Post
  • 0.4 percentOctober rise in the Consumer Price Index, per the Labor DepartmentAl Jazeera English

Three sides of the story

5Liberal1Center7Conservative

13 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal5 outlets

Falling prices tied to Iran war and midterms

NBC News leads with the price falling below $4 for the first time since July 20. It links the drop to a plunge in oil, Trump playing down new strikes on Iran and markets betting on Democratic control of Congress. It quotes Vance writing "The reason we lost is the war" and ING analysts saying the oil sell-off may be "overdone."

Al Jazeera English opens with consumer prices rising 0.4 percent in October, more than forecast, even as petrol fell. It adds a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing cost of living as a leading concern for voters and Trump approval at 32 percent. Bloomberg, carried by Yahoo News, calls it relief at the pump but says prices remain about 19% above the seasonal average.

It says pump prices usually fall more slowly than they rise. CBS News explains the fall through winter-blend fuel, weaker demand and hopes for a US-Iran deal, and cites GasBuddy's De Haan on further easing into Thanksgiving.

Center1 outlet

AAA credits dipping crude oil for falling prices

NewsNation reports that gas prices fell under $4 for the first time since July. It quotes AAA saying pump prices have declined over the last couple of weeks "as crude oil has dipped."

Conservative7 outlets

Prices fall after Trump's Iran signals, inflation persists

The New York Post ties the drop to Trump's signals that renewed US strikes on Iran are highly unlikely while negotiations continue. It quotes ProcureAbility's Joe Adamski that prices could stay under $4 until spring as long as markets keep expecting negotiations, and cites Labor Department data showing gasoline up 37.4% over 12 months. The Washington Examiner opens with prices falling "despite ," says the 0.4% CPI rise came mostly from housing and groceries, and quotes a White House official saying "President Trump was right."

It also says the CPI is almost guaranteed to bring a large Fed rate hike next month. The Epoch Times leans on De Haan's post that "prices tend to drop in the fall," citing winter-blend fuel and cooler demand, and quotes Trump's Iran remarks. Breitbart News gives a short report with the AAA figure of $3.9788, diesel at $6.1572, and California at $5.71 against North Carolina at $3.24.

What a side did not mention
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionVance wrote that the war was the reason Republicans lost the midterms Reported by NBC News, Al Jazeera English
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionUkrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities add to fuel supply pressure Reported by NBC News, Yahoo News
Money and daily life

For drivers, AAA puts regular gasoline at $3.98 a gallon, compared with $2.98 on Feb. 28. The Washington Examiner cites GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan saying the average could reach $3.75 by Thanksgiving if no geopolitical surprises arrive. Diesel is about $6.16, and the Epoch Times says De Haan forecasts it dropping below $6 around Thanksgiving. NBC News reports economists say diesel costs can spill over into grocery prices.

All sources: 14 articles from 13 outlets

Liberal (6)

Center (1)

Conservative (7)

Related
  1. Fed holds interest rates steady six days before midterm elections
  2. Exxon and Chevron beat third-quarter estimates as gas averages $4.20 a gallon
  3. NBC poll ranks economy as top midterm issue as inflation outpaces wages
  4. US consumer prices rise 0.4% in October, more than economists expected
  5. US average gas price falls below $4 a gallon for first time since JulyThis story
Brent crude and the barrel

Brent is the benchmark price for most of the world's oil, and WTI is the US benchmark. Oil is priced per barrel, about 159 litres.

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Congress

The US parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill becomes law when both pass it and the president signs it.

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Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day was November 3.

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Inflation and the CPI

How fast prices rise. In the US it is measured by the consumer price index, published monthly for a basket of goods and services. “Core” inflation leaves out food and energy, whose prices swing the most.

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