Eventually, experts hope the prices will fall to reflect the state average of $3.76 a gallon, which despite being more than a quarter cheaper than what is being seen in the Inland Empire is still more than a dollar greater than the national average of $2.65 a gallon.
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Estimates have gas dropping from a low of $2.54 in August to .98 in December, which of course means more money in your wallet for holiday shopping.
While Buncombe’s average price was just under $2.60, a few stations were already well below that, he said. The national average is $2.67 a gallon. There are several factors that drive down the price after Labor Day.
“We’re confident that our projections give consumers more than accuracy; we think they’ll help them identify some savings that should come in handy at Thanksgiving and Christmas”, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, in a release.
Prices in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice market dropped about 8 cents in the past week, bringing the local average for a gallon of regular down to about $2.52 on Friday.
One is that fewer people are taking vacation road trips so demand for gas falls.
In addition, U.S. crude prices have fallen over 20 percent in the past month.
Besides Michigan, the other states expected to have sub-$1.99 gas prices are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Caroline, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Caroline, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
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It’s typical for gas prices to remain high in the summer, Kloza said. “At the same time, refining margins are strong and with the switch to cheaper winter grade gasoline in the coming months, ample supply of discounted gasoline will be available to motorists”.
