The average cost of one gallon of gasoline in the U.S. dropped to $3.79 on Monday, a 3.8 percent decrease from the 2012 high of $3.94 on April 2. It’s also the fifth consecutive week that gas prices decreased. That’s welcome news for Americans with upcoming summer road trips, people tired of getting gouged at the pump, and Barack Obama. When gas prices were dancing upwards in March and April owing to fears of war with Iran and problems in Afghanistan, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 54 percent of respondents believed that a president can do a lot to control gas prices, while 36 percent said that gas prices are beyond a president’s control. Stabilizing gas prices is doubly good news for Obama because of the beneficial effect on the economy. According to Energy Information Administration economist Kay Smith, a 10-cent drop in pump prices can add roughly 0.1 percent to disposable household income.
