Oil's drop may have an immediate effect, as gas station owners desperate to get drivers back to the pump consider a pre-emptive cut in price.
The price for a gallon of regular fell to $4.105, down nearly a penny, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Diesel prices also eased, dipping three-tenths of a cent to $4.842 a gallon.
"We could see the nationwide average drop down to $4 or perhaps lower than that. And we think that could happen relatively quickly ... within the next couple of weeks," said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman for auto club AAA.