Average price of gas falls below $4 a gallon across the US

(CNN) - The average price of gas is now below $4 a gallon.

According to AAA, the national average is $3.98.

Although the number doesn’t mean anything specific economically, $4 acts as a psychological threshold for gas prices. Falling below that makes the price seem much cheaper.

Prices are trending down primarily due to falling demand caused by the end of summer driving and the return to standard time.

Long term, gas prices still face serious headwinds. Fighting in Russia and the Middle East has damaged refineries there.

Many in the United States will have to go offline in the near future for maintenance.

They’ve been deferring maintenance this year to keep supplies steady.