Biden stickers appearing on gas pumps despite lower prices

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Gas prices are down across Texas and San Antonio, but sometimes perspective is everything.

A familiar sticker is appearing once again at gas pumps in the San Antonio area. It shows President Joe Biden pointing one direction as the caption below reads, “I did this.” The stickers are generally placed to the right of the digital display showing the price of gas at the pump.

So, how far down are gas prices really?

AAA Texas has the San Antonio average price for a gallon of regular unleaded at $2.69. That mark might be down 7 cents from last week, but a look deeper into the past offers a different perspective.

In October of 2020, the Texas average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $1.81 as the COVID pandemic was wearing down just prior to the Presidential Election that year. That price is 88 cents less than what you are paying right now. By October of 2021, well into the Biden Administration, the Texas average price for a gallon of regular had skyrocketed to $2.91, up more than a dollar per gallon from the previous year. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows the statewide average price for regular unleaded was over $3.00 per gallon in each of the next two years just prior to the holidays.

Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas this week, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.04 per gallon while drivers in Lubbock are paying the least at $2.59 per gallon.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.15, which is five cents less when compared to this day last week and 39 cents less per gallon when compared to this day last year.

According to the EIA, supplies of crude oil and refined gasoline stocks are increasing. EIA data estimates that U.S. crude oil stocks are up by 5.5 million barrels and U.S. gasoline inventories rose by 900,000 barrels. Meanwhile, demand is leveling out following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

If supplies remain healthy and demand continues on typical fall patterns, gasoline prices will likely continue to decline.

Unclear is what direction gas prices will go after the 2024 Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 5.

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