Gas prices dipped slightly this week, even after concerns about the omicron variant of the coronaviruses began to rise.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. is now $3.39, down one penny from last week, according to AAA.
It's only a slight dip, but it's still offering consumers who have been facing rising prices at pumps across the nation a little break, AAA said.
Prices are up by $1.27 per gallon compared to a year ago.
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that the global risk from the omicron variant is very high based on early evidence, and that the mutated coronaviruses could lead to surges with severe consequences. The assessment from the UN health agency, contained in a technical paper issued to member states, was the WHO s strongest warning yet about the new variant of the disease that was first identified by researchers in South Africa.
On Friday, news of the variant temporarily pushed crude oil prices down.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told FOX Business that we saw the fear on Friday when oil plummeted 13%.
Andrew Gross, AAA spokesman, said it was too soon to tell if there is a global economic slowdown caused by the omicron variant that will push oil prices lower for the long term. The upward pricing pressure due to tightened supply and high demand seems to have abated, and that will likely result in pump prices stabilizing. In part because of the emergence of the COVID -- 19 variant, the gas price declines are likely to come, according to De Haan.
COVID 19 consumers could be in store for cheaper prices based on many countries turning back to travel restrictions, limiting oil demand and possibly accelerating the drop in gas prices, De Haan said.