Interactive graph shows gas prices slowly decreasing in Sacramento County
Sacramentans may finally be feeling some relief at the pump after nearly a month of exponentially high gas prices.
Prices are finally starting to trickle down from record-breaking numbers, according to point in time data.
Gas prices started to jump at the beginning of March, when news of Russia invading Ukraine first started to break. In Sacramento County, gas prices reached an all-time high on March 29, at $5.73 per gallon.
Price for gas in the area has inched down a few cents every day since March 29, with some minor fluctuations. In Sacramento County, the average price of gas is $5.49 as of Friday, and in Yolo County, $5.48, as shown in this visualization using data from AAA.
State and national prices
The state faces some of the highest gas prices compared to the rest of the country. In California, a gallon of gas averaged $5.68 on Friday, which is around $1.56 higher than the national average.
Here is a recently updated graph that compares regular prices for counties across California.
The national average for regular gas is $4.12 per gallon, which is significantly down compared to prices last month.
But national gas prices are slowly starting to creep up again. A week ago, the U.S. average for regular gas was around $4.07, and this number has increased every day since.
Could this mean other prices are dropping?
Gas prices decreasing could potentially indicate other prices are stabilizing as well.
Increased consumer spending, the recovery of supply chains and higher interest rates could point to less robust price increases in the months ahead, state economists say.
However, gasoline remains a volatile indicator in determining whether or not overall prices start to decrease, as it is affected by a host of other unpredictable factors. According to Business Insider, some of these shifting factors include taxes, refining costs and geopolitical issues, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 12:07 PM.