Philly-area gas prices dip below $4 per gallon for the first time in months, AAA says

Gas prices in the Philadelphia area are catching up with the national average — which is to say they’ve come down below $4 per gallon for the first time in six months.

AAA reported the threshold-crossing development on Labor Day, as many a holiday-weekend traveler headed home by car.

Prices at the pump are falling because crude oil prices have also come down, below $100 per barrel, and because demand for gas has slowed as “motorists adjust their driving behaviors,” the automotive services group said.

In the five-county region, the average price of gas dropped to $3.99 per gallon, down from what AAA said was a record high in the region of $5.11 per gallon on June 12.

The new price point represents a 13-cent drop from last week’s price of $4.12 per gallon.

The $3.99 cost-per-gallon is still 70 cents higher than it was this time a year ago, AAA said.

Nationally, the average price of gas had already fallen to $3.85 per gallon last week, and it dipped to $3.78 on Labor Day.

“Downward movement in gas prices will definitely make a difference for most people,” Jana Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement.

Tidwell added that AAA is “cautiously optimistic” the trend will continue, but also said “the overall situation remains very volatile, especially as hurricane activity picks up in the Atlantic.”

Statewide on Monday, Pennsylvania’s average gas price also fell just below $4 for the first time since March, down to $3.99 as well.

That means 39 states and the District of Columbia now have average-per-gallon gas prices under $4.00, according to AAA. The 11 states with average gas prices still above that mark are, the group says: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.