For the first time in months, Denver gas prices have fallen below $3 per gallon and one expert is optimistic prices will continue to fall.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline fell 16.4 cents last week to $2.99 on Monday in Denver, according to a GasBuddy survey of 844 stations in the Mile High City.

The last time a gallon of gas was under $3 in Denver was back on April 28, according to GasBuddy’s records. It’s a significant drop from where prices were a month ago when they were 42.6 cents higher, and a year ago when gas was 58.6 cents more expensive.

“Gas prices in Denver this week are following a national trend of declines, largely due to a decrease in oil prices,” Nicole Peterson, a spokesperson for GasBuddy told The Denver Gazette in an email. “Prices at the pump also typically decline in the fall, when less drivers are on the road and demand for gasoline goes down.”

The national average for a gallon of gas dipped 3.3 cents last week to $3.13 on Monday, according to a GasBuddy survey of 150,000 stations. That’s 6.2 cents cheaper than a month ago and 39.7 cents less than a year ago.

“The median U.S. price for gasoline has just slipped below the $3 per gallon mark for the first time since early 2024,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a news release. “While the national average price of gasoline has returned to decline as oil prices have begun to cool off after Iran’s attack on Israel, due in part to sources saying Israel has agreed not to attack Iran’s oil infrastructure.”

De Haan said the decreasing risk of an attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure combined with economic weakness in China and oil prices slipping below $70 per barrel keeps him optimistic about lower prices.

“I’m hopeful that the downward trend will continue again this week for a majority of Americans as we see the average price of gasoline start to make a targeted effort to fall below the $3 per gallon mark for the first time since 2021,” De Haan said.

Statewide, the average cost for a gallon of gas in Colorado was $3.10 on Monday, down 12.7 cents in the past week.