Pain at the pump is easing.
The average price of gas across the US has fallen for three consecutive weeks, and continued to fall on Monday, according to AAA data.
“The national average for a gallon of regular has been falling for three straight weeks, delivering some relief to drivers during the busy summer travel season,” AAA said in a statement on Friday.
At the time of AAA’s release, the average price of a gallon of gas nationwide was $4.12, down from a high of $4.56 in May. By Monday morning, the average price had fallen a further 1.5% to $4.06.
Gas prices spiked from less than $3 in February after the start of the US-Iran war. The war crippled global oil supply by leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Iran-controlled waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. This, in turn, pushed crude prices sharply higher.
Since then, oil prices have jumped on escalations of the conflict and fallen on any news of a potential peace deal or reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, oil prices dropped 5% after news that the two countries had agreed to a tentative deal to reopen the strait, with Iranian officials saying the conflict would end on Monday night. The price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, has fallen from close to $120 per barrel in late April to around $83 as of 6 a.m. ET Monday.
While the price of fuel is falling in tandem with the broader drop in oil prices, gas is still more than a third more costly than it was before the conflict began.
In some US states, gas prices remain above $5 per gallon. In California, usually the most expensive state for gas, the average price per gallon is $5.74.
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