oil prices gas $1 gallon
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Do you remember when gas prices were around $4 per gallon? Do you remember watching the news with absolute terror as the cost of oil escalated seemingly every day? Well, Pepperidge Farm remembers, as do so many other Americans who had nervous breakdowns whenever the gas light came on in their cars.

But the last year-and-a-half has been a godsend when it comes to how much we have to spend on gasoline. After all, average prices are down nearly $2 per gallon over the last 18 months. But, what if things could get ever better? What if the current $1.96 national average isn’t the end of the cascading cost of gasoline?

As the cost of oil continues to fall, experts project that 2016 will be the year we come close to paying just $1 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Not since the Backstreet Boys wanted it that way has the national average of regular unleaded gasoline been that low.

Of course, the continued decrease in gas prices is not guaranteed and is dependent upon several factors, but AAA and Gas Buddy are confident that $1 per gallon for regular unleaded is not merely a pipe dream.

How much you spend at the pump is decided by a few factors: the cost of oil, the market’s proximity to a refinery, the capacity of that refinery, and taxes and levies put in place by the state.

The price of oil has fallen to under $33 per barrel and continues to collapse.

Another factor that’s contributed to falling gas prices is, believe it or not, Saudi Arabia. From USA Today:

“The recent decision by Saudi Arabia to continue to keep its oil exports high essentially has dissolved the OPEC cartel. The decision has also forced the kingdom to chop its 2016 budget. This ongoing supply glut guarantees oversupply of crude.”

Yet another factor influential on the decrease in gas prices are slowing national economies.

In the United States, several states have large refineries or are close to states that do. Gas prices continue to drop in these areas so long as the refinery is running at or near capacity and produce gasoline instead of other petroleum products.

How about that? Just a few years ago, Americans were taking second jobs just to be able to afford to drive to their first jobs. On the horizon, we can see the promised land. So long as things continue to trend the way they have been, we’ll be able to go out and glance over at the Exxon sign without feeling the need to throw a shoe at it.

Instead, we’ll direct our anger at the cost of Totino’s Pizza Rolls.

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