U.S. gas prices fall to $3.99 as Independence Day travel nears
Gasoline slipped to $3.99 a gallon, easing the summer bill just as 72.2 million Americans prepare to travel for Independence Day.
The price at the pump has finally dipped back below $4, trimming a little off the cost of a summer road trip at the exact moment millions of Americans are getting ready to leave home for Independence Day. AAA said the national average for regular gasoline fell to $3.9990 on June 18, 2026, the lowest since March 30 and the latest sign of nearly four straight weeks of declines.
The drop is being driven by lower crude oil prices after the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. CBS News reported that Brent crude fell 1.4% to $78.46 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.2% to $75.10 a barrel on June 18. Even with the recent slide, gas prices remain more than a dollar higher than when the war began on Feb. 28, 2026, showing how quickly geopolitical shocks can still reach the household budget.
The national average has come down sharply from earlier spring highs. AAA said regular gas averaged $4.56 on May 21, then $4.24 on June 4 and $4.12 on June 11 before slipping again this week. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy said the national average could keep declining if relations between the U.S. and Iran continue moving in a positive direction, and he estimated regular gas could fall below $3 a gallon by the end of 2026 or early 2027 if conditions in the Middle East keep improving.
The relief is uneven across the country. AAA data showed California at $5.642 a gallon for regular gas on June 18, while Indiana was at $3.399. Texas stood at $3.493 and Hawaii at $5.570, underscoring that even a national pullback still leaves drivers in some states paying far more than others. AAA also said the average price of public EV charging fell one cent this week to 41 cents per kilowatt hour.
That pricing backdrop matters because AAA expects a record 72.2 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from home during the nine-day Independence Day period from June 27 through July 5, with 61.4 million expected to drive. Sub-$4 gasoline gives holiday travelers some breathing room, but the market is still being steered by crude oil and the fragile politics of the Middle East, which will help determine whether the decline lasts into peak summer driving season.
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