The Cheapest Spots To Buy Gas In The Philly Area As Prices Fall

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Gas prices are far from normal, and the ongoing inflation crisis is far from over, but prices are steadily dropping in the greater Philadelphia region and around the area.

One Pennsylvania gas station — American Oil in Worthington — even dipped under the coveted $4 per gallon mark on Monday, at $3.99, according to GasBuddy. Prices remain notably cheaper over the border into Delaware, with many of the region's best deals to be found at stations in Middletown, Newark, and Bear.

In the five-county Philadelphia area in southeastern Pennsylvania, here are the cheapest fill-ups, according to GasBuddy:

• Shell, 236 Lincoln Highway, Fairless Hills, Bucks County: $4.19
• Costco, 14 W. Lightcap Road, Sanatoga, Montgomery County: $4.25
• Gulf, 203 S. 3rd Street, Oxford, Chester County: $4.25
• Costco, 700 Evergreen Drive, Glen Mills, Delaware County: $4.29
• Costco, 429 Upper State Road, North Wales, Montgomery County: $4.29
• BJ's, 640 Cowpath Road, Montgomeryville, Montgomery County, $4.29
• Sam's Club, 3925 Welsh Road, Willow Grove, Montgomery County, $4.29

Prices in the five-county Philadelphia region have fallen to $4.56, according to AAA. That's down 9 cents in just the past five days, and down 49 cents from the all-time high of $5.05 last month.

Nationally, the average gas price has fallen every day since hitting a record $5.01 per gallon on June 14, with a national average of $4.36 as of Monday, according to AAA.

Officials warn against too much optimism for the remainder of summer, however.

“However, a number of factors, not the least of which is hurricane season, that could reverse the recent downward trend in pump prices," Jana Tidwell, spokesperson for AAA's Pennsylvania region, said in a statement. "It’s too soon to tell whether we’re out of the woods in terms of seeing $5 gas again this summer."

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, projected that the national price average could fall below $4 by mid-August. Nine states have already reached the mark, and so have more than 40,000 stations around the U.S., according to GasBuddy.

De Haan anticipates that gas prices will keep falling for a seventh straight week. But other factors, such as natural disasters or upticks in oil prices, could reverse or slow the trend this summer.

"Gas stations still have plenty of room to decline as oil prices remain under $100 per barrel," De Haan said Monday. "However, should the tropics become more active, the decline could eventually reverse. In addition, this week we'll see GDP data for the second quarter, and if it's better than expected, we may see oil rally, slowing the descent."

AAA attributes the fall in gas prices to low domestic demand for fuel and oil prices that remain in the mid-$90s per barrel. This dip could be due to fears of a recession, which would significantly lessen demand, experts told USA Today.

National gas demand increased from 8.06 million barrels per day to 8.52 million per day last week. But the rate is 800,000 barrels per day lower than last year and in line with demand in July 2020, when COVID-19 kept more people at home.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Josh Bakan