Have Gas Prices Finally Peaked In 2012?

Could motorists finally start to experience some relief at the pump?

AAA reports that just may be the case. The national average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.86 on Sunday, a five-cent decline from a week ago and the same price as a year ago, according to the latest AAA survey.

In Maryland, the average cost for regular unleaded Sunday was $3.91 a gallon, a six-cent drop from a week ago and just four cents more than a year ago, the survey continued.

AAA reports that prices at the pump have fallen 12 days in April, a far shift from previous months this year when prices trended upward with a fear of shattering the all-time record high average price of $4.11 set in July 2008.

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Weaker than anticipated U.S. unemployment figures, a drop in home re-sales and Iran’s decision to negotiate over its nuclear program all factored into the price decline, according to a AAA news release.

If prices have peaked for the year, it will mark only the second time in the last 20 years that has occurred before mid-May. The last time prices peaked this soon was Jan. 12, 1998, when it reached a high of $1.08 a gallon.

Here are some of the cheapest gas prices in the Essex-Middle River area according Patch’s gas price tracker and MarylandGasPrices.com: