LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The price of gasoline fell under $1 gallon at some gas stations in the Twin Cities metro Wednesday.
The app GasBuddy showed two gas stations in Lakeville - Hi Hi Market and Gas on 210 Street West and Kwik Trip on Dodd Boulevard - selling gas for under $1. Two gas stations in Red Wing were also reported to have gas prices below $1.
According to GasBuddy, Gasoline prices have continuously dropped nationwide since Feb. 20 as the COVID-19 pandemic has crushed the demand for oil and stay-at-home orders keep people in their homes and off the roads.
On March 27, GasBuddy reported more than half of U.S. was seeing average gas prices of less than $2 a gallon.
"This is an unprecedented event. We’re experiencing one of the biggest historical collapses in gas prices, including the Great Recession of 2008,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in a statement. “World demand for oil has plummeted virtually overnight while domestic demand for gasoline continues to fall off a cliff with more states implementing shelter-in-place orders. Prices will continue to fall in the days ahead with currently no end in sight.”
The last time the national average gas price fell below $1.99 was in March 2016, caused by a crash in the oil market. Prior to that, the last time it was this low was 2009, during the Great Recession.