NEW YORK—Offering relief to consumers after months of feeling the squeeze, gas prices across the nation reportedly fell Friday after a single nod was issued from a figure at the head of a table in a shadowy boardroom. According to sources, the curt, nearly imperceptible motion set off a wave of low whispers and a scuttling of chairs from the extremities of the conference table, and sent dozens of aides in dark suits scurrying from the room in a panic. The silhouetted figure behind the magnanimous gesture reportedly remained stock-still at the vortex of the chaos as the average price of a gallon of gasoline began to drop in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and leading economists’ fears of a looming recession were staved off. At press time, the entire boardroom had fallen silent once again, watching rapt as the figure vanished.