By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If there is a bright spot to the restricted society we're in now, it might be found at the gas pump.
"Gas prices are very, very low right now and continue to fall rapidly," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "Two-thirds of the states across the country saw double-digit price drops in the past week. The national average fell from $2.45 a month ago to $2.20. Right now, in Kansas, we're at $1.95 average, down 14 cents just in the past week."
Between reduced travel due to COVID-19 and the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, crude oil prices have been plummeting.
"It's hard to predict where things will go in terms of crude oil prices and gas prices," Steward said. "I think, in the near term, in the next at least few weeks, we can expect that gas prices will continue to go down."
Steward thinks the national average may get below $2 at some point. Kansas is still in roughly the same spot it usually is relative to the rest of the country.
"Kansas is 11th cheapest in the nation, so about where we usually are," Steward said. "Other states have sort of caught up and have taken spots in the top 10. Oklahoma, right now, has the cheapest gas in the country at $1.84 a gallon."
The lowest county-wide average is $1.72 a gallon in Ellis County.