After years of record-high gas prices, North Carolina has experienced an approximate 40-cent price drop over the past month, with some local stations advertising as low as $2.49 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.
The price is consistent with the national average of $2.51 per gallon, according to American Automobile Association statistics.
"I'm not paying that much less, but mentally, it's nice to see $2.50 instead of $3.00," said Alyssa Platt, a first-year graduate student.
There are a variety of factors that affect prices, said Christopher Timmins, associate professor of economics.
He cited hurricane season, global demand and government standards as potential reasons. He also referenced "Hotelling's Rule," an economic theory concerning the consumption of resources.
"If you think you're going to run out sooner, then the price today has to go up," Timmins said. "People bump up expectations when they think the terminal point will be reached."
Although that approaching point kept prices high, some stations said they saw minimal change in their sales.
"We conducted business as usual," said John Boy, owner of the Exxon-Mobil station on Ninth Street. "People still have to drive."
Some students reflected this attitude.
"Gas prices don't really have an effect on me," said senior Stephanie McIlroy. "I can't really function without gas in my car."
Hallie Knuffman, a research analyst at the Center of Global Change at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, said the price drop in petroleum is part of a cycle.
The "winter-blend" of gas, which is less refined, is cheaper, Knuffman said.
"Ultimately, they're going to keep going up," she added. "People are just becoming more aware of the life-cycle cost of energy and how it impacts, well, everything."
The Associated Press reported Sept. 5 that Chevron unearthed enough oil to expand the national oil reserves by 50 percent, which will lower expectations and prices, Timmins said.
Higher prices can often lead to innovation in cheaper alternative fuels, and both Knuffman and Timmins said the future of consistently lower prices could lie in the ethanol industry.
Scientists will develop alternative sources and continue to bring down costs until they become viable substitutes for oil, Timmins added.
Until then, people need to be educated about the other fuels and their impacts on energy, Knuffman said.
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