The U.S. national average gas prices have dropped below $3 for the first time in four years since the COVID-19 pandemic, AAA reported. 

Gas is below $2.75 a gallon in 18 states, including Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico. 

During the Russia-Ukraine war, gas prices went beyond $5 per gallon for the first time ever due to the Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia. 

After the invasion, U.S. oil prices surged to $81 a barrel, CNN reported. Late last year, a barrel of crude was around $70 and today it’s around $59. Throughout the remainder of former President Joe Biden’s term, gas prices remained above $3. 

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency, allowing the U.S. to accelerate drilling and pipeline development, the World Economic Forum reported. 

“We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said in his 2025 inauguration speech.

Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, told Politico in a statement, “There is no disputing the fact that President Trump’s energy dominance agenda is the reason Americans are paying less at the gas pump.” 

While lower gas prices are appealing to consumers, oil companies have already announced layoffs and lower gas prices could mean less investment in new drilling operations, according to The Hill.

Another reason for lower prices could be seasonal fluctuations, as demand lowers after the summer season. 

But oil production is higher than last year, with a production of 13.7 million barrels per day in July, compared to 13.2 million during the same month the previous year.

Yet not all believe that Trump is to blame for the decrease. 

“Trump is not the reason for the drop—it’s happening to global prices—though I’m sure like any politician, he may try to take credit for the good news, but it’s effectively not his credit to take,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Newsweek.