Average gas prices across the country are about 5 cents cheaper than this time last year, at $2.44 a gallon for regular unleaded.
Kansas has the sixth-cheapest prices in the U.S. right now, at $2.12 a gallon on average. Regular unleaded in Wichita Friday morning was about $1.91 a gallon.
Auto group AAA Kansas stated record-breaking oil production levels in the US last month are contributing to lower prices, and as long as crude oil stays at its current low prices globally, the US will see cheaper gas through the end of the year.
“Globally, crude supply is growing faster than anticipated,” AAA stated. “Contributing to the surplus is the United States’ record-breaking production levels – which hit the highest level ever recorded by the Energy Information Administration at 11.7 million b/d last month. In addition, there is more Iranian supply in the market than expected due to the U.S. granting crude sanction waivers to some of Iran’s largest importers, including India, South Korea and Japan.”
AAA stated the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met this week to decide whether to cut crude production by up to a million barrels per day. That announcement is expected Friday. As long as crude stays below the $60/bbl mark, AAA stated, gas prices in the US are forecast to be less expensive through the end of 2018.
