AAA: National gas prices keep falling amid lower oil prices

July 11 (UPI) -- The national average price for a gallon of gas fell to about $4.68 on Monday, down 13 cents from last Monday amid lower oil prices.

The national average on Monday of $4.68 is also 32 cents less than a month ago, but still about $1.54 more than a year ago, AAA figures show.

The average reported last Tuesday was $4.80 -- a slight decrease from the prior day and a decrease of 8 cents over the past week after rising to a peak of $5.01 per gallon in mid-June, according to AAA.

Gas prices have come down since some users on social media called for a national boycott over the holiday weekend, but have also kept falling despite a record increase in travel over July 4th holiday weekend from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels as gas prices started to drop.

"Usually, more people buying gas would lead to higher pump prices," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a statement. "But the price for oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has fallen and is hovering around $100 a barrel. Less expensive oil usually means less expensive gas."

The price of crude oil rose on Friday due to increased market optimism as markets rebounded, but the price was still down $4 per barrel from the previous week, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration based on the West Texas Intermediate benchmark.