Overview
- The national average for regular gasoline fell to about $3.98 per gallon on Tuesday, marking the first AAA reading under $4 since July.
- The recent fall reflects weaker seasonal driving, retailers moving to cheaper winter‑blend fuel, and a pullback in crude oil after midterm election developments and presidential comments that eased near‑term Iran risks.
- Diesel remains much higher than gasoline at roughly $6.15 to $6.19 per gallon nationwide, maintaining steep costs for trucking and freight businesses.
- Analysts including GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan say the national average could fall toward $3.70 by Thanksgiving if geopolitics stay calm but caution that refinery outages, deferred maintenance and renewed Mideast tensions could reverse the trend quickly.
- Even with the drop, pump prices are about 90 cents above last year and large state-by-state gaps persist, so many drivers will see only limited relief while regions such as California and parts of the Northeast stay far more expensive.