Gas Off Its Peak, Oil Near $88 — What Midterm Gridlock Means for the Household Bill

AAA put the national average at $4.10 on Nov. 5, down 12 cents in a week, as WTI settled at $88.12. Markets are pricing a slower tariff and fiscal path under a Democratic Congress. Here is what the numbers say — and what they do not.

By Clara Hughes

The midterm verdict was about the household ledger. The market reaction since Election Day has been about how that verdict changes the next two years of policy. Those are related stories. They are not the same story as Thursday's AI-led equity wipeout Altas covered this morning. AAA reported Nov. 5 that the national average for regular gasoline fell 12 cents from a week earlier to $4.10 a gallon. One month earlier the average was $4.37; one year earlier it was $3.08, AAA said. Pump prices remain the highest ever recorded for this time of year: before 2026, AAA noted, the national average had never gone above $4 during November. At Wednesday's formal close, West Texas Intermediate crude fell $7.97 to settle at $88.12 a barrel, AAA reported, citing the trading session as oil slipped back into the high-$80s to low-$90s