Experts Say Lower Gas Prices May Be Unstable

Prices at the pump are going down across the country. But how much lower will prices go?

AAA said one big factor for the drop in prices is there's less demand.

Now, there's question on how long it will take to get back to 2021 gas prices.

“At $3.76 on average today, we’re still about 90 cents more per gallon than we were a year ago," said Leslie Gamble, spokesperson for AAA.

Oklahoma reached record high gas prices last month at $4.66.

On Tuesday afternoon, it's almost a dollar cheaper with an average price of $3.76.

Tom Seng is an Energy Economics professor at the University of Tulsa.

He said drivers can be optimistic because the busy season is coming to an end.

“We will see a dramatic drop in gasoline demand at that point in time and we should see a corresponding drop at the pump," said Seng.

He said there's sort of a catch-22 going on with the stock market.

“On the one hand, the investors in the stock market are concerned about inflation, but then they’re also concerned that the steps that the fed has taken to increase interest rates is somehow going to impact economic growth going forward," said Seng.

He said after Labor Day prices should continue to lower. Many would like to see numbers like last year's average of $2.89.

He said prices may not drop below three dollars because of what he calls the "invisible market."

That means a lot of the product won't go the pump, it'll go to storage for future use.

“We have to replenish our reserves in case of a situation like this again, in case of a harsh winter, we are at record low levels of our stored products," said Seng.

As gas prices drop, Seng said it will also help with diesel prices and could help with supply chain issues.

“As the demand for gasoline lessens, refiners will produce less gasoline, and probably will produce more diesel which will help diesel prices," said Seng.

But the tricky thing about the market, Seng said it can change in an instant.

“Something could be happening and next thing you know, you check prices and they’ve either gone way up or they’ve fallen even further," said Seng.