Gasoline back to what it cost a year ago in Va. [Video]

It finally happened – the average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Virginia returned to what it cost a year ago, before an inflationary spiral that became a hot-button political issue in congressional mid-term elections this fall.

The average price of regular unleaded gas dropped to $3.21 a gallon on Wednesday in Virginia, the same as it cost a year earlier – a milestone in the ongoing effort to tame inflation.

For Richmond economist Kent Engelke, that saved him $40 in filling up his car with premium unleaded gasoline at Costco on Wednesday morning, compared with the summer peak.

“I said, ‘Wow! I feel like I hit the jackpot,'” said Engelke, chief economic strategist and managing director at Capitol Securities Management, Inc.

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline has fallen by $1.65 a gallon in Virginia since peaking at an all-time high of $4.86 a gallon …