A detailed view of a Shell gas station sign showing the low price of $1.69 per gallon, the result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on March 31, 2020 in Jacksonville, Fl.
David Rosenblum | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
With gas prices this low, Tracie Brocket would usually hit the open roads on the weekend around her home in Sweet Grass County, Montana. But she’s one of many Americans who can’t take advantage now of cheaper fuel, as the majority of the country stays home in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The national average for a gallon of gas — $1.883 as of Friday, according to the latest data from AAA — is the cheapest in more than four years. The coronavirus outbreak has sapped demand for both crude oil and gasoline, just as a price war between Saudi Arabia kicked off as each sought to gain market share in the global oil market. This has translated into dramatically cheaper prices at the pump. In the last month the national average per gallon has…
