Since the end of February, oil prices have decreased by 56 percent with the price per barrel continuing to drop through the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Allen, associate dean of graduate programs and professor of economics, could see the gas prices drop below $1 if the coronavirus crisis continues due to the low demand for oil.
According to Allen, the stay-at-home order is keeping people off the road, benefiting North Carolina with lower gas prices for consumers.
“This is a bonus to North Carolina,” Allen said. “We are not heavy producers of petroleum, so the flip side is if you go to states that are leading oil producers, those people are having to shut down.”
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