Gas was going for the princely sum of $4.04 per gallon of unleaded Monday. That’s nevertheless cheaper than it was last week at its height of $4.06 average per gallon of unleaded and signals the start of a downward trend. Read on …
The Associated press
Drivers are starting to see a little relief at the gas pump just
ahead of the summer driving season.
The average price for a gallon of regular was $3.955 nationally on
Monday. That’s down about 3 cents from Friday, but still nearly 14
cents more than it was a month ago, according to AAA, Wright
Express and the Oil Price Information Service.
Motorists in about two dozen states are paying more than the
national average, and in 13 states the pump price is above $4 a
gallon. Analysts expect prices to continue to fall across the
country, perhaps as much as a quarter or more by Memorial Day.
Oil prices rocketed up 34 percent from mid-February through early
May on fears that supplies could be disrupted because of uprisings
in the Middle East and North Africa. Those fears have begun to
abate as supplies continue to flow from the oil-rich region.
Traders also are more optimistic that Mississippi River flooding
will not seriously interfere with operations at Gulf Coast
refineries. The Army Corps of Engineers opened two massive gates at
the Morganza spillway last weekend in an effort to protect Baton
Rouge, La., and New Orleans from floodwaters.
In addition, gasoline supplies have remained ample as Americans
have cut back on driving because of high gas prices.
Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at OPIS, predicted pump
prices will range between $3.25 a gallon and $3.75 a gallon by
mid-June, with the biggest declines in regions that don’t rely on
supplies from Gulf Coast refineries, such as the Midwest and the
Rocky Mountains.
