Gas prices have decreased in the Dallas-Fort Worth area amid the seasonal transition to fall, even as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas threatens to elevate tensions in the region further.
The average price for a gallon of regular in Dallas sits at $2.892 as of October 31, meaning that the average cost has decreased by 48.5 cents compared to last month’s average of $3.377, according to AAA. Meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of gas in Fort Worth and Arlington sits at $2.887, 49 cents lower than last month’s average price of $3.377.
Each of these average prices is slightly lower than the average for a gallon of regular across the state, which sits at 2.962 on Halloween day.
When compared to the national average of $3.478, the average prices for both Texas and the metroplex are significantly lower.
Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA, said the falling prices are standard for this time of the year, adding that they will likely “fall lower daily toward the holidays and then slowly rise again with the arrival of spring and summer,” as reported by USA Today.
“It’s a bit of a seasonal swoon, with school back, the days getting shorter, and the weather more challenging — all of this leads to a dip in demand,” Gross said.
Devin Gladden, another AAA spokesperson, offered a similar statement to Gross, noting that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will impact gas prices but that it is common to see a drop this time of the year, according to Buy Side.
“Right now, it’s kind of a fluctuating market,” said Gladden. “But typically, we would see prices decline, and that’s what we’re expecting barring any other tragedies.”
While many expect gas prices to continue falling, others are less optimistic due to Israel’s war against Hamas.
Severin Borenstein, the faculty director of the Energy Institute at the University of California’s Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said that prices could actually rise based on how expansive the conflict becomes.
“What’s going on with Israel and Hamas right now has not at this point become a wider war that has encompassed major oil producers, but that could change,” Borenstein said, according to USA Today.
“And if it does, we could see crude oil prices go up,” he added.
