COLUMBIA — Gas prices in Missouri are on the decline and United States gas prices are also taking a dip as pandemic-era inflation starts to level out.
From the timeframe of Oct. 20-21, this year is the lowest price per gallon for regular unleaded gas since 2020, when the pandemic forced a majority of people indoors.
“It’s always good right, gas prices going down?” Missouri driver David Autry said.
Drivers around mid-Missouri said they noticed the change in prices over the last few weeks — and years.
“You feel like you can go more places,” driver Sheri Barnes said. “You feel like you can go on vacations or small day trips.”
As of Tuesday, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Missouri is $2.72 per gallon. On Oct. 20, 2024, the price was $2.85 per gallon, while it was $3.25 per gallon in 2023, $3.44 per gallon in 2022 and $3.03 in 2021.
One driver KOMU 8 spoke to said his job takes him all around the Midwest, and he said he noticed the change.
“I always compare the prices to (Iowa),” driver Larry Griffin said. “It’s a little bit more than here but still way cheaper than it has been.”
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While President Donald Trump is taking credit for the drop in prices, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, Patrick De Hann, said gas prices are rarely affected by the direct actions of politicians.
“The U.S. president, whether Republican or Democrat, does not sway on the global balance of (gas) supply and demand,” De Hann said. “Politicians seek to blame and take credit when gas prices fluctuate.”
De Haan said the reasons why gas prices are down currently have nothing to do with direct economic policy.
“A lot of it is simply rebalancing,” De Haan said.
According to De Haan, inflation is a key part of the price drop.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine – now two years in the rearview and that was contributing to a lot of inflation,” De Haan said. “The government printing money during Covid also contributing.”
De Haan also said the national average price per gallon of gas since 2022 has decreased, plus some good news for Missouri.
“Gas prices in Missouri: likely to spend a majority if not the entirety of the end of the year below the $3 a gallon mark,” De Haan said.
