24 States With Gas Prices Below $3

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In this article, we discuss the 24 States With Gas Prices below $3. If you would like to skip our detailed discussion of the oil and gasoline industry, you can go directly to 9 States With Gas Prices below $3.

Gasoline, more commonly referred to as gas, is a non-renewable fossil fuel widely used around the world for multiple purposes, such as heating in households, car fuel, generating electricity, and other industrial uses. 

Over the past two decades, natural gas consumption has increased at a constant rate, and the pattern is the same today as well. According to the Oil Market Report published in December 2023 by the International Energy Analysis, the world consumes around 101.7 million barrels of oil per day. Moreover, the US, China, India, Japan, and Russia are the countries that consume the most oil, with the United States having a consumption of 43.7% of the world's total oil consumption. In fact, according to Global Fire Power, the US has the highest amount of oil consumption when compared to other countries. 

Within the United States, gasoline is the largest single-volume refined product sold, accounting for almost half of the national oil consumption. According to the EIA, in 2022, the United States used about 7.3 billion barrels of petroleum. 

Interestingly, despite the United States having high gasoline consumption, the prices remain modest compared to European countries like the Netherlands, Iceland, and Norway. According to AS News of 2023, Hong Kong residents pay the highest gasoline prices in the world, at $11.61 per gallon. However, at the same time, the average retail price for regular-grade gasoline ranged between $3.09 per gallon to $4.51 per gallon.

The reason behind cheap gasoline prices in the US is that it focuses on refining crude oil and producing enough gasoline to meet the national market consumption and occasionally exports the excess. In 2022, the country had a net export of 1.19 million barrels of petroleum per day, as reported by the EIA

However, it’s also important to note that gas prices are constantly fluctuating due to market trends and other geopolitical factors. For instance, at times of conflicts between oil-exporting countries, gas prices surge abnormally as the oil supply is cut down. On the contrary, when global warming awareness programs start to trend, more people switch to electric vehicles, plunging the demand for gas and reducing its prices. 

In context to prices in the US, 2023 was a good year for gas consumers as the prices finally set down after surging to a record high in the previous year. Fortunately, the gas prices will fall in 2024 as well, and Americans will save $32 billion on fuel, according to CNN News. But is this good news for the oil industry market, too?