Gasoline prices in the U.S. are below $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly four months.<\/p>\n
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gasoline was $3.98 on Tuesday, down from $4.56 a gallon earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at tracking firm GasBuddy, predicts that fuel prices<\/a>\u00a0will continue to ease into the Thanksgiving holidays.<\/p>\n Diesel costs have also fallen, with the national average now running at $6.16 a gallon, down from $6.53 in late September.<\/p>\n Why are prices down?<\/p>\n Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as filling stations switch from summer-blend fuels to cheaper winter blends. Federal rules require gas stations to sell a summer blend, designed to guard against evaporation, from June 1 to Sept. 15. Outside that period, stations are allowed to use a winter blend, which is cheaper to produce, explaining why prices often fade in the fall.<\/p>\n The switch to the winter blend coincides with a drop in demand, as people take fewer road trips and vacations during the winter months. According to AAA<\/a>, gas prices fall by around 10 to 30 cents per gallon during the winter months for that reason.<\/p>\n Global oil costs, the main factor determining prices at the pump, have also dipped amid hopes that the midterm elections<\/a>\u00a0could open the door to a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war. On Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at around $91 per barrel.<\/p>\n In an interview with CBS News<\/a> “60 Minutes” on Sunday, President Trump said he is “not looking” to escalate the war in Iran.<\/p>\n “I don’t think there’s any reason to,” he told “60 Minutes” correspondent Ross Douthat.<\/p>\n The timeline for reaching a resolution, however, remains unclear. Gregory Brew, senior analyst for Iran and energy for the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said Monday that the prospect for a deal remains “unlikely.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “Despite ongoing mediation, neither the U.S. nor Iran has shifted its negotiating position,” he said in a research note Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n While gas prices have eased, analysts say the high cost of fuel sparked by the war has spilled into other categories, keeping inflation elevated. October’s CPI data<\/a>, released Tuesday, shows food prices rose at a monthly pace of 0.5% in October after remaining flat in September.<\/p>\n