Recently, crude oil futures dropped by over 4%, due to the abundance of supplies and doubts about the global economy's growth. At the same time, interest rates are also on the rise, which could lead to a decrease in fuel demand, which leads to skepticism about the future price of oil futures.

There was a brief increase in prices after a six-day surge that started on February 6. Oil prices fell after the trading session ended on February 13th. Bloomberg News reported that the US plans to sell more crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, adding more supply to an already over-supplied market. The Biden Administration intends to sell 26 million more barrels from the reserve, with deliveries between April and June.

Warmer winter weather in Europe has also had an impact on oil prices. Natural gas prices in Europe have dropped to their lowest level in 18 months due to the less severe winter temperatures. Prices have fallen by 85% since last summer's highs when Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe. In the United States, the milder temperatures mean less oil and gas usage, resulting in lower demand and prices.

Over the past couple of weeks, regular unleaded gasoline prices in the US have remained relatively steady, with an average of $3.421 per gallon on Friday, which is slightly lower than the previous week's average of $3.431 per gallon. Although gas prices rose sharply last year, averaging above $5.00 per gallon, the average price of gasoline this week one year ago was $3.522, which is higher than the current price by $0.101 per gallon. This is good news for consumers and for car dealership!