Gas under $2 in some Centre County stations

Gas dipped into the ones at some pumps in Centre County Wednesday.

It’s not quite the 47-cent gas some drivers found in Houghton Lake, Mich., due to a small-town pricing battle, but we’ll take it.

Analysts predicted the sub-$2 gas in Pennsylvania months ago, though the average is still hovering over $2. The $1.94 per gallon cost at Sam’s Club off Benner Pike is the lowest price reported by GasBuddy in Centre County.

GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Jeff Pelton said some independent gas stations in Pennsylvania would test the benchmark price in September and possibly have an average price of $2 by Christmas.

“The shale oil (and) Bakken revolution in North Dakota started things in motion, and we are now in a worldwide oversupply of oil, which has seen gas prices fall,” Pelton told the Centre Daily Times in September.

The tumbling price for oil caused nationwide falling costs for drivers. U.S. oil prices fell below $27 per barrel Wednesday, a 13-year low going back to September 2003. The average national gas price, according to AAA, is $1.86.

The International Energy Agency’s January report, released Tuesday, pointed to several reasons for falling oil prices.

“Persistent oversupply, bloated inventories and a slew of negative economic news pressured prices so that by mid-January crude oil touched 12-year lows,” the report said.

The international lifting of sanctions on Iran contributed to the latest oil price decline, which would allow the country to boost its exports.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Gas under $2 in some Centre County stations."