News Number of the Day Soak Up the Lower Gas Prices While You Can Number of the Day: The most relevant or interesting figure in personal finance By Terry Lane Terry Lane Terry has 25 years experience in journalism and communications, reporting on a range of topics that include personal finance, telecommunications, Congress, government regulations, and criminal justice. He has also worked on technology, energy, and environmental policy issues as a congressional press secretary and owned and published a local community newspaper in North Carolina. learn about our editorial policies Updated on June 27, 2022 Fact checked by Hilarey Gould Photo: The Balance That’s how many straight days gas prices have declined, with analysts saying the trend may continue through the Fourth of July weekend, but not the whole summer. Gas prices have set record after record this year, leaving many drivers to ask, “when’s it going to end?” For the short term, at least, you’re getting your answer, with the national average for a regular gallon of gasoline dropping to $4.90 on Monday, down from the record high of $5.02 back on June 14. Recession fears are helping to push the price down, according to AAA, as poor economic forecasts are helping lower demand for crude oil, which is used to make gasoline, diesel, and other fuels. Crude oil closed Friday at $107.62 a barrel, down from this month’s peak of $122.11 on June 8. Gas prices are up 49% since the start of this year, mainly due to production issues at home and supply issues overseas like the sanctions on Russian crude oil following that country’s February invasion of Ukraine. Prices are up about 177% since the pandemic low of $1.77 per gallon in April 2020. To help ease the price you’re paying at the pump, President Joe Biden urged Congress last week to temporarily halt collection of the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax and asked states to make similar cuts as well. Gas prices could be as low as $4.75 by July 4, according to a tweet from Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for gas price tracker GasBuddy. But how long they will stay there remains unclear. Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for energy pricing company Oil Price Information Service, recently tweeted that this dip in prices reflects the last bit of relief at the pump before July when summer driving demand is expected to peak. Meanwhile, JP Morgan forecast earlier this year that average gas prices could hit $6.20 by August. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Terry at tlane@thebalance.com. Want to read more content like this? Sign up for The Balance’s newsletter for daily insights, analysis, and financial tips, all delivered straight to your inbox every morning! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. AAA. “Gas Prices.” AAA. “Gas Prices Tumble, But How Low Will They Go?” Yahoo Finance. “Crude Oil Aug 22.” AAA. “Only 12 States Carry Gas Price Average $2/Gallon or More.” Twitter. “Patrick De Haan, June 26, 2022, at 8.24 p.m.” Twitter. “Tom Kloza, June 26, 2022, at 11:08 a.m.” JP Morgan. “Global Commodities Oil Flash Note.”