ARKANSAS, USA — According to the American Automobile Association, gas prices in the state of Arkansas are the lowest in the country.
The state average was at $3.26 on AAA's gas prices page while the national average was at $3.78. It was good news for travelers in Arkansas as travel picked up for Labor Day weekend.
Springdale Resident Eric Spivey headed to the Clothesline Festival in Prairie Grove. He had just recently moved to Springdale from Louisiana. Spivey bought a Jeep Gladiator in 2020 when not many were traveling. He says prices were under $2 then, but now it sits above $3. It's caused him to make changes to his life.
"my daughter actually lives a good bit distance away. So before I was able to go twice a week, and it wasn't really, you know, a much of a hit on my on gas," said Spivey. "Now because of that, I'm having to go at least like once a month, and which is hard on me emotionally, but also on her as well"
A survey done by AAA shows that nearly 2 out of 3 Americans changed their driving habits to combat higher prices during the pandemic. With fewer drivers and lower prices of crude oil, that means the gas market has to lower prices at the pump.
The Dean family chose to spend their weekend calling the hogs to victory. They headed back home to Kansas City as Matt Dean says he was surprised with gas prices so low.
"figured on the way up, we were going to be back up into like 315 320 range," said Dean. "But the fact that actually went down a couple of cents was a little surprising. You know, typically after the holiday weekend, you go up because of everybody having to travel back."
Nick Chabarria, Spokesperson for AAA, says low prices may not last long.
"there's still a lot of volatility, the Russian war with Ukraine is still putting a lot of stress on the oil market," said Chabarria. "We also know that, for example, even in Europe, you know, there are concerns over you know, crude oil and other petroleum products like diesel shortages for the wintertime."
According to the AP, OPEC and allied oil-producing countries announced that they'd be trimming their supplies. Crude oil prices have already started to rise after the announcement.