Houston, Dec 10 : US national average price of gasoline was $2.97 per gallon, a level it last touched in 2021, according to a report from oilprice.com.

The number of US states that now enjoy average gas prices below $3 per gallon rose to about 35, up by seven from a month ago, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn't come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us," Haan said, citing GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

"One would need to count over 1,300 days since we've seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015," he added.

Oil is the primary factor that determines gasoline prices in the United States, and commodity experts at Standard Chartered have predicted that US oil production will not surge under Donald Trump's second presidency, according to the oilprice.com report.

Oil markets have been struggling to find direction despite event risk remaining high, particularly in the Middle East, said the report.

According to StanChart, the market's apparent hesitation to trade a view with any conviction has intensified the notion that oil markets seem content to wait for Trump to take office in January.

/IANS