Gasoline prices dropped in the past week with Oklahoma’s new average price going from $2.55 last week to $2.46 a gallon this week.
National prices dropped as well, slipping 6 cents a gallon to reach an average of $2.75.
Tulsa prices went from $2.53 a gallon last week to $2.37 this week. Drivers in Oklahoma City saw a 10-cent drop in prices as the new average on Monday was $2.41 per gallon. Lawton’s average is $2.39, which is 9 cents cheaper than a week ago.
Northwest Oklahoma continues with the highest price averages. Drivers in Shattuck and Taloga pay $2.76 a gallon on average. Comanche and Cleveland counties have the lowest averages at $2.39.
When it comes to filling-up at the pump, Americans are changing their perception of what they consider “too expensive.” AAA’s 2019 Gas Price survey found that 50 percent of consumers think paying $3/gallon is too high – an increase of 30-cents from last year when half of consumers reported $2.70 as too expensive. 2019’s price point is also 50 cents more than in 2016, when half of consumers thought $2.50 was too much to pay at the pump. With gas price sensitivity lowering over the past three years, Americans are feeling numb to the pain at the pump.
Price at which 50% of consumers consider gas price to be too high (2016 – 2019), per AAA’s Annual Gas Price
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| $2.50 | $2.80 | $2.70 | $3.00 |
“For consumers today, paying more to fill-up their gas tank may feel less shocking due to the national average pushing within pennies of $3/gallon the last two spring seasons,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “However, there is good news for consumers this summer – the highest prices of the year could be in the rearview mirror. With most refineries operating at normal levels, demand at robust rates, and cheaper crude oil prices, summer gas prices are poised to be a little less than last year –dropping as much as a dime to lower the national average to $2.70.”
Even with Americans being more tolerant of higher gas prices, you can still expect 74% of Americans to make lifestyle changes to offset increased pump prices. Of those, nearly a quarter (24 percent) say $2.75 – a price consumers will see for sure at the pump this summer — as the price that would push them toward changing habits or choices, including: