Fuel Prices May Be Headed Lower

U.S. gasoline prices appear to have peaked and consumers should soon see “some relief” at the pumps, Energy Department head statistician Jay Hakes said Thursday.

“Prices will continue to moderate at the spot level and at the retail level,” Hakes said in a news briefing.

Hakes, who is administrator of the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration, noted that this year the average price of gasoline at the pump rose to a May 10 high of $1.28 a gallon from a Feb. 12 low of $1.08.

In hard-hit California, retail gasoline prices have peaked and are beginning to decline, he said.

With the fall in spot market prices and with new supplies arriving in the market, all U.S. consumers can expect to see cheaper retail prices within a matter of weeks, Hakes said.

“The weakening spot prices in conjunction with rising new supply all point to having reached our seasonal wholesale peak, which should be reflected before long in the retail markets,” Hakes emphasized.

This year’s spring spurt in gasoline prices averaged 20 cents a gallon compared with 13 cents in the spring of 1995, he said.