By KELLY HANNON
Remember paying $4 a gallon for gas?
The record-setting summer prices are a distant memory as Fredericksburg-area stations post prices at $1.99 or lower.
Two stations in Fredericksburg's Central Park area, Wawa and Sheetz, were charging $1.95 a gallon yesterday afternoon.
The abrupt price drop took even AAA Mid-Atlantic by surprise. The travel club thought prices might fall to $2.50 a gallon by Thanksgiving, said Martha Meade, AAA spokeswoman in Richmond.
"We are now looking at a possible nationwide average getting to $2 before the end of the year," Meade said.
The national average price was $2.24 per gallon yesterday, though Virginians are generally paying less.
In Virginia, the last time a gallon of unleaded gas averaged less than $2 a gallon was March 8, 2005. That was before Hurricane Katrina.
Following the Gulf Coast hurricane that fall, the price of gas in Virginia surged over $3, an amount that was record-setting at the time.
Gas averaged $2.10 a gallon in Virginia yesterday. The average price in Norfolk and Richmond was $1.99.
This summer, just four months ago, Virginians were paying an average of $4.01 per gallon at the all-time high on July 17.
Lower crude oil prices are largely responsible for the reduced prices, Meade said.
Crude oil was trading at $61.04 a barrel on Friday afternoon. "That's the lowest level in more than a year," Meade said.
Crude was trading at $62.41 per barrel yesterday.
Lower gas prices could have a ripple effect at the grocery store.
Wegmans, a grocery chain that is opening a Fredericksburg location next year, has announced it will lower prices for the holidays, since it anticipates lower food prices in 2009.
But as prices fall, demand for gas could grow and that could put upward pressure on pump prices.
So far, AAA has not seen a significant change. Few people are planning cross-country drives--yet.
"The economy is having an impact on what people spend overall, including their driving habits," Meade said.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com