Gasoline prices in South Carolina are on the decline – plunging by more than thirty cents per gallon over the past month according to the websites which track them.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Palmetto State is currently $2.24 – down $0.09 from last week and down $0.30 from a month ago. Meanwhile according to GasBuddy, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is averaging $2.21 – down $0.12 from a week ago and nearly $0.32 from last month.
South Carolina has always enjoyed some of the lowest gas prices in the nation, although there’s a catch. Our state’s population is among America’s poorest – meaning cash-strapped citizens invariably pay more of their income on fuel costs than residents of almost any other state.
This is one reason our news outlet has consistently opposed the imposition of new gas taxes … arguing such levies are regressive and will unnecessarily stifle the consumer economy.
Unfortunately, state leaders have refused to heed our warnings …
[su_dominion_video_scb]The recent price declines seen in South Carolina mirror a nationwide dip attributable to expanded global crude oil production and lower-than-expected demand. Prices are expected to tick back up in 2019 if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decides to limit production at its scheduled meeting in Vienna, Austria next month.
Nationwide, a gallon of regular unleaded is going for $2.56 on average according to AAA – down a little more than $0.08 per gallon from last week and down nearly $0.28 from the previous month. GasBuddy puts the national average at $2.54 – down $0.06 from the previous week and down $0.29 from a month ago.
OPEC is under pressure from U.S. president Donald Trump to keep oil prices “at reasonable levels” – an apparent concession for his administration’s muted response to Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in last month’s brutal murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the middle eastern nation’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
This news outlet has taken a dim view of Trump’s handling of the Khashoggi murder, although we welcome any sustained pressure brought to bear on OPEC that helps keep American fuel costs down.
At both the state and national level, gas prices are roughly identical to where they were a year ago – but higher than they were during the previous two years.
Take a look …
(Click to view)
(Via: AAA)
This news outlet will continue to keep an eye on gas prices heading into 2019 – when gas taxes will once again climb as part of the multi-year increase authorized by state lawmakers in 2017.
As of July 1, filling up your car in the Palmetto State will cost you an extra two cents per gallon – or 22.75 cents. That number will eventually climb to $28.75 per gallon – an increase of 71.6 percent from where it was in 2017. All told, this tax hike is projected to deprive taxpayers of $1.8 billion over its first five years of implementation (we are currently in year two) and around $600 million each and every year thereafter.
What are prices like in your neck of the woods? Post your experiences in our comments section below …
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