This summer you can gas up without feeling down. Summer gas prices are predicted to drop to the lowest during the last decade, according to analysts at the website GasBuddy.com. The projected United States (U.S.) average price between Memorial Day and Labor Day is a rock-bottom $2.35 per gallon.
Analysts at GasBuddy.com consider several factors when making their gas price projections. They include oil inventories, production levels, and economic conditions, according to Market Watch.
The U.S. Energy Department's EIA (Energy Information Administration) has projected a summertime national average gas price that is a little higher: $2.45 per gallon. However, that figure is still the lowest in the past 10 years.
Patrick DeHaan, senior analyst for GasBuddy.com, explains that the EIA's newest data showed a 10.9 million barrel week-to-week increase, according to Register Citizen. The figure is the largest one since March 2001.
DeHaan says this figure shows a "downward pressure" on fuel prices. That is why the national average is predicted to be the lowest national average since 2005.
The news about summer gas prices is especially noteworthy since gas prices tend to spike during summertime. That is due to increased demand caused by vacations, and a summer blend of gas that is pricier for oil refineries to produce.
The federal government started requiring this new summer gas blend in 1995. It was part of one of the amendments to the Clean Air Act (1963).
The most expensive average summertime gas price was $4 per gallon in 2008. That was just before the start of The Great Recession.
The current average national average gas price is $2.40. So experts are predicting little change in that figure from now until the end of summer.
Lower gas prices will increase consumers' spending on other goods and services, such as in the retail and leisure sectors. That will in turn benefit the national economy.
The projected $2.35 per gallon price is significantly lower than the actual $3.58 per gallon price during the summer of 2014.