The price of gasoline in the U.S. has dropped below $4 a gallon

The average price of gasoline in the United States, the world’s largest consumer of fuel, fell below $4 a gallon for the first time in months.

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $3,990 a gallon Aug. 11, according to the American Automobile Association.

Gasoline prices hit a record high of $5.02 in June. That high cost kept costs down, but prices also fell as market fears of severe supply restrictions eased since February, when Russia first invaded Ukraine.

Gasoline prices usually peak in the summer. They usually drop when the summer driving season ends around Labor Day, but that doesn’t happen until Sept. 5.

Lower prices could help President Joe Biden’s administration and Democrats in Congress in the run-up to the midterm elections. The White House has taken several steps to rein in oil prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At one point, crude oil, the main driver of gasoline prices, was selling at $139 a barrel; on Wednesday, it was $92.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but prices are coming down, and the president will continue to urge domestic and international oil producers to increase production so that they (prices) can continue to come down,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said earlier this week.

The White House is in the process of releasing more than 180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. U.S. oil production has risen about 500,000 barrels a day this year to 12.2 million barrels a day.