Gas prices decline slightly in NC as president proposes gas tax holiday

Gas prices in North Carolina declined slightly overnight as the Biden administration announced the president's plans to call on Congress to approve a three-month federal gas tax holiday.

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The decline in gas prices was small but welcome. The average gas price in N.C. of $4.59 is still hitting people’s wallets hard.

The federal gas tax holiday could help drivers, but N.C. State economist Mike Walden said it won't have a large impact.

The holiday would pause the 18-cent-per-gallon tax, which Walden said only represents 3% of N.C.'s gasoline price. While this option is possible, Congress would have to figure out how the tax loss will affect road repairs, Walden said.

Walden believes the best way to lower gas prices is to get OPEC countries to pump more oil. Drivers can also use less gas to lower the demand.

Gas prices have already declined by six cents in the last week due to changing habits.

"People are responding," he said. "People are changing the length of their trips -- they may be staying home and doing a stay-cation and looking for other ways to enjoy themselves. I think that's probably going on and will go one more -- and that's exactly what we can do as drivers to get the price down."

Walden said it will be important to watch the president's upcoming trip to the Middle East, which could impact gas prices. The president will speak on gas prices and inflation Wednesday at 2 p.m.