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Summer 2016 sees record low gas prices

Travelers headed home from their Labor Day vacations have something else to celebrate-low gas prices.

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Those prices are still about a dime per gallon higher than they were this time last month, but they’re a nickel lower than they were this time previous year.

According to GasBuddy.com, the price across the U.S.is likely to average $2.24 per gallon for the summer, compared to 2015’s summer average of $2.70. The average price of gas Friday in Sedalia was $1.94 per gallon, well below GasBuddy’s predicted average price of $2.19 in the US over Labor Day weekend.

Oil prices have been volatile over the past two weeks as investors speculate regarding the possibility of a production freeze during the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) later this month.

In market action, USA benchmark crude oil rose $1.28, or 3 percent, to $44.44 a barrel in New York Friday. “We’ve seen a lot of new drilling techniques and that has helped us become more energy independent”.

The Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) projects that Americans will purchase about 400-million gallons of gasoline each day over Labor Day weekend, at an aggregate cost of about $880-million per day.

According to the EIA, prices are expected to fall farther as the summer driving season comes to a close, and refineries scale back on crude oil purchases as focus on seasonal maintenance.

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“That’s a lot more money in our pockets”, DeHaan said.

Labor Day marks end of summer driving season, start of gas price declines