Gas prices are finally coming down in the Philly area. But will the trend last?

With arguably ideal weather that delivered a summer day meant to be spent anywhere other than at home, encouragement to get in the car and go Sunday came from an unlikely place of late: the gas pump.

After months of ballooning gas prices and a record high on June 14, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Philadelphia dropped to $4.793 a gallon Sunday, according to AAA. A week ago, the average price for regular unleaded gas in the city was $4.802 a gallon, and a month ago it was $4.986 a gallon.

In South Jersey, the average price of regular unleaded was $4.658 a gallon Sunday. A week ago it was $4.767 a gallon; and a month ago, $4.992.

Decreases measured in cents rather than dollars aren’t necessarily life-changing from a household-budget perspective, but the slight drop was proving to be a psychological lift at area pumps in that at least it wasn’t an increase.

“I’m pretty happy. I’m not going to lie,” said Chris LaMacchia, 27, fueling up at the Sunoco station at Oregon Avenue and Front Street in South Philadelphia, where a gallon of regular had crept down to $4.899, still higher than the average for the city.

LaMacchia, of Philadelphia, uses his own car and pays for his gas as a driver for Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Amazon. He’s recently paid $5.30 a gallon and said the price drop makes a difference to him.

“I just hope it keeps getting lower,” he said.

Gas prices across the country have dropped over the last few weeks, after setting record highs last month. On June 14, the national average price for regular unleaded gas hit an all-time high at $5.016 a gallon. On Sunday, the national average was $4.684.

Last month, Philadelphia hit an all-time high for the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas: $5.119, more than 30 cents higher than Sunday’s average.

According to AAA, the current dip is due to the price of crude oil going down. As of Friday, the price of a barrel of crude oil was $102.73, down more than $3 from a week earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration. Then again, the good news is relative. Crude oil was still more than $30 pricier per barrel than a year ago.

Despite steady, high demand for crude oil, the price has gone down because of the possibility that rising interest rates and inflation might ease economic growth, according to AAA. Any slide in economic growth could cause demand for crude oil to go down, along with prices.

Although the recent drop in gas prices comes as a relief to motorists feeling pain at the pump for months, fuel costs remain high.

A year ago, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Philadelphia was more than $1.50 cheaper per gallon, at $3.215. And nationally, the average price for regular unleaded gas was $3.143 a gallon, also more than $1.50 cheaper than it is now.

The dip in pricing also comes after President Joe Biden called on gas stations to lower their prices over the Fourth of July weekend.

“My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: This is a time of war and global peril,” Biden wrote in a tweet, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product, and do it now.”

Gas station owners have said that profit margins on gasoline sales amount to only a few cents per gallon. Most of their money is made on items such as snacks, lottery tickets, or automotive repairs, they say.

But industry analysts say the downward trend in prices at the pump could be short-lived as more people hit the road during peak summer driving season.

At the Sunoco at Oregon and Front on Sunday, customers seemed resigned to that prospect.

“To me, it is what is,” said Dave Horner, 52, an anesthetist who lives in Collingswood. “We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. We had the pandemic. We have the Ukraine war. And it’s summer. Everyone travels.”

Gas prices have soared other times in history, but they went down eventually, he noted.

“We had this before in the ‘70s,” Horner said, adding: “It’s a small price to help the people in Ukraine.”

This article contains information from the Associated Press.