U.S. motorists are seeing the lowest gas prices since January 2011 due to an uptick in domestic crude oil production, the American Automobile Association reported Monday.
The low prices are even more evident in the Golden Triangle and in Mississippi. The state currently has the fifth cheapest gas prices in the country.
A gallon of regular gas currently ranges between $2.81 and $2.89 in Columbus, according to Gasbuddy.com. That range in Starkville is between $2.88 and $2.98 in Starkville, and $2.84 and $2.93 in West Point, the website reports.
If you’re looking to capitalize on prices while they stay low, you may have a little more time to do so, but not much. AAA Vice President of Public Affairs Michael Right said officials with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are set to meet next month and will assess the oil supply to determine whether to scale back production.
“Given the fact that there’s an overabundance of oil on the world market, they may decide to ratchet back their output in order to raise prices,” Right said. “If that should occur, I think that will more than signal the bottom of the drop in price.”
Peak travel season is also over, which typically drives down demand and prices, Right added.
“That’s certainly one of the reasons in terms of demand falling off, which is not unusual for this time of year,” Right said. “What we have seen in the last five years is the U.S. has become a major producer of crude oil. We are no longer importing a majority of crude oil. We are indeed producing a majority of crude oil. We’re exporting an awful lot of finished petroleum products. That’s a major turnaround in a pretty short period of time.”
Despite the drop-off, Richard Myers, vice president of Midstates Petroleum Company, which owns more than a dozen convenience stores in Columbus, said he hasn’t noticed people buying more gas.
“We’ve actually noticed a falloff, which is normal,” Mayers said. “The typical thought process among the consumers is as prices fall at the rapid rate they’ve been following that it’s going to be cheaper the next week and then the next week. They’re not buying as much as they normally would by. Although they’re visiting the store more often, they’re not filling their cars up as they would in an upswing market.”
Customers will typically wait until just after the price bottoms off before they stock up, Mayers added.
“Typically, when it starts rising again, you’ll see a huge increase in sales,” he said.
A barrel of crude oil is less than $82 right now, Right said, compared to $115 a barrel this summer, when demand was high.
“I think we’ll bottom off fairly soon,” Right said. “I think there are still a few pennies left to go.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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