4 days ago A historic plunge in demand during the global pandemic has pushed U.S. average gasoline prices to $1.91 a gallon. Above, a woman wearing gloves gases up her car in Los Angeles on March 18. Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images. Listen Now Oil prices spiked this week on news that key producers — Saudi Arabia, Russia and perhaps the state of Texas — could arrange a 9 Mar 2020 Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 22%, last trading at $35.45 per barrel. US oil is trading at $33.15 per barrel, a decline of nearly 20%. Here are five things you need to know: Why 9 Mar 2020 That's what caused crude oil prices to fall some 32% Sunday night to about $28 a barrel, levels not seen since projecting a price of $55 a barrel; after the coronavirus news first broke, she reduced her range to as low as $48.