GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If you have been to the gas station over the last few weeks then you have no doubt noticed prices on the way down. It's a welcome relief after a record high of more than $5 per gallon in June.
But now that road trip you've put on hold is a possibility again.
Experts say the average price for a gallon of gas could fall more than 20 cents over the coming weeks. Gas stations are setting lower prices already, going down a penny or two every day.
In West Michigan, gas prices are closer to $4.60 a gallon.
U.S. crude oil is trading below $100 for the first time since May.
Experts say it's important to remember there are a lot of factors at play with energy markets changing every day.
"I'm optimistic that some stations for some period of time this fall could fall under $4 in West Michigan, but I'm not ready to say that's 100% guaranteed," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy. "I'm hoping we'll get there. But there could be something that could derail that possibility."
While gas prices appear to be on a downward trend, economists say inflation will still put a crunch on people's pocketbooks through at least the fall in areas like food.
They say overall inflation is starting to slow down across the board. The reason is that consumers are afraid of a recession and spending less.
"Since they're buying less stuff, there's less competition for this stuff, and the price drops," said Paul Isley, associate dean at Grand Valley State University. "So that was an effect of the higher gas prices, and the higher interest rates the Federal Reserve was putting into play. So what this does mean is that it's unlikely that we're going to see as many interest rate increases as people were fearing."
There are a number of things that could still impact the supply chain and inflation, such as hurricane season hitting oil refineries down south and the Russian-Ukrainian war, but economists are hopeful.
The good news for truck drivers: The price of diesel is now back below $6.
For a list of gas prices, click here.
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