Gas prices drop below $4 for first time since July despite inflation

Gas prices continued their post-election tumble, finally averaging below $4 per gallon for the first time since July, though inflation continued to run higher than expected.Gas prices reached record highs this year amid the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S.’s growing ability to get oil through the strait has given the U.S. a reprieve at the pump, along with signaling of peace overtures from the White House. GasBuddy now puts the national average at $3.98 as of Tuesday, a number expected to continue falling through November. The drop comes despite the Consumer Price Index rising 0.4% in October, above the expected 0.3% increase.Most of the CPI increase can be credited to rising housing costs and a sharp rise in grocery prices. Gas prices bucked this trend but couldn’t offset the other cost-of-living increases. The fall in gas prices can also be credited to seasonal changes in demand.“Temperatures are getting colder,” Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, told NPR. “People who have boats and RVs are probably done for the year. I would say, by Thanksgiving, so long as we don’t get any wild cards geopolitically, the national average could be $3.75 a gallon.”De Haan estimated that some stations in 14 to 16 states could see gas at $3 per gallon by Thanksgiving.The White House has telegraphed a message of vindication over the falling prices.“President Trump was right – Iran did everything they could to drive up the price of oil before the midterm elections, and now prices are tumbling down,” a White House official said in a Monday statement to the Washington Examiner.WHITE HOUSE BRAGS AS GAS PRICES DROP TO $4 JUST DAYS AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONSThough gas prices have come tumbling down over the past several weeks, they remain much higher than before the Iran war. Gas prices are still up about 30% since Feb. 28, and 40% since Jan. 1. They were still at a record level on Election Day last week.The higher-than-expected CPI increase is almost guaranteed to trigger a large rate hike by the Fed next month, which will in turn set off another feud with President Donald Trump, who clashed with the Fed repeatedly to cut rates.