STATEWIDE-Barring any unforeseen circumstances, GasBuddy expects the national average for gas to be $2.99 by Christmas.

“So long as nothing changes, we are on that trajectory. Wholesale gas prices haven’t been this low since early this year. Some stations in the state are only charging $3.30 while others are even below $3 per gallon,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

In the immediate future, DeHaan expects most stations across Indiana to drop below $3.50.

“As for the factors that are causing it, you have demand dropping. It’s dropping seasonally because of cooler weather. Many Americans think demand surges for Thanksgiving, but it was actually down last week. There are concerns about COVID in China with China’s economy largely shutting down, which means less oil consumption,” said DeHaan.

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy card, U.S. retail gasoline demand fell last week (Sun-Sat) by 5.0%.

DeHaan says the situation in China is worth everybody’s attention.

“With prices going down because lockdowns, it’s only a matter of time before China reopens fully and prices go back up because of rising demand,” said DeHaan.