Houston, Dec 10 (NationPress) The average price of gasoline across the United States has dropped to $2.97 per gallon, a milestone not reached since 2021, according to a report from oilprice.com.

The number of states in the US with average gas prices below $3 per gallon has increased to approximately 35, which is seven more than the previous month, stated Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, on Monday, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.

"The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn't come at a better time for motorists with the holidays approaching," Haan remarked, referencing data from GasBuddy that includes over 12 million individual price reports from more than 150,000 gas stations nationwide.

"It has been over 1,300 days since we've witnessed the national average this low, marking the most affordable gasoline prices outside of the COVID era since 2015," he added.

Oil remains the main factor influencing gasoline prices in the US, and commodity experts at Standard Chartered have anticipated that US oil production will not see significant increases under Donald Trump's second presidency, as noted in the oilprice.com report.

The oil markets have been facing challenges in finding direction, even with high event risks, particularly in the Middle East, as stated in the report.

According to StanChart, the market's evident reluctance to adopt a specific trading view has heightened the sentiment that oil markets are waiting for Trump to assume office in January.