Gas Prices Drop Just In Time For Holiday Travel

By Kate Shepherd in News on Dec 22, 2015 6:19PM

RIP gas stations (Google Maps)

Good news for holiday travelers hitting the roads: gas prices are dropping around the U.S. The national average just dropped below $2 per gallon to $1.998. But Chicago's average isn't that low.

It's the first time since March 2009 that AAA's average has been below $2 and 41 cents less per gallon than this time last year, according to the Tribune.

"Drivers across the country are celebrating the historic return of cheaper gas prices," Marshall Doney, AAA's president and CEO said in a statement. "The lowest gas prices in nearly seven years are a holiday gift that few consumers could have imagined when gasoline was $4 a gallon."

Chicagoans aren't feeling a huge price drop, with the average at $2.31 per gallon in the city and about $2.12 per gallon in the metro area.

But Chicago is far from the highest prices in the country. The average in California is $2.72 per gallon.

Holiday travelers have low crude oil prices to thank for the drop: prices fell to a seven-year low of under $35 a barrel on Friday.