2022 was a year of record high gas prices as the national average for a gallon of gasoline hit $5.016 on June 14th. Thankfully, that’s a distant memory as the current average is $3.216 per gallon, but what does the future hold?
GasBuddy looked into their crystal ball and are expecting prices to drop. While predicting the future isn’t easy, they expect the yearly national average price of a gallon of gasoline to drop nearly 50 cents to $3.49 per gallon. Furthermore, they expect the summer driving season to be significantly more affordable as they’re expecting prices to hover around $4 per gallon.
Also: National Average Price Of Gas Tops $5 Per Gallon For First Time In History
Jumping into specifics, GasBuddy says the “national average price of gas could cool early in the year as demand remains seasonally weak, followed by a rise that starts in late winter, bringing prices to the $4 per gallon range in time for summer. Barring unexpected challenges, prices in 2023 should return to normal seasonal fluctuations, rising in the spring, and dropping after Labor Day into the fall.”
While that’s good news, GasBuddy warned that places such as Los Angeles and San Francisco could see prices near $7 per gallon this summer. Only time will tell what happens, but the company says this largely depends on whether or not “refineries struggle under mandates of unique formulations of gasoline.”
Despite some areas possibly seeing gasoline at $7 per gallon, consumers are expected to save money in 2023. In particular, GasBuddy estimates households will spend $2,471 on gasoline this year, which would be a drop of $277. While that sounds like a sizable improvement, households only spent $1,952 in 2019.
GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, cautioned that “2023 is not going to be a cakewalk for motorists” as “extreme amounts of volatility remain possible, but should become slightly more muted.” He added, “The national average could breach $4 per gallon as early as May – and that’s something that could last through much of the summer driving season.”
