Gas likely will be cheapest since 2009

NEW YORK – Drivers who have seen a steady rise in the price of gasoline can relax: They will almost certainly be paying far less for gas this summer than they have in at least six years.

“It’s a cheap, cheap, cheap year,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

The Energy Department said Tuesday that it expects the price of gasoline to average $2.55 between April and September, which would be the lowest since 2009. Over the course of the year, a typical U.S household could save $675 in gasoline prices compared to last year.

The coming summer of cheap gas was set up by a collapse in oil prices that began last June at $107 a barrel and ended in mid-March at $43. That took gasoline prices down to $2.03 a gallon, a level the nation hadn’t seen since it was deep in recession in March 2009.

Since then the price of crude has risen nearly $20 a barrel to around $60, propelled by evidence in recent weeks that drillers in the U.S. and around the world have sharply cut back on new projects while demand for fuels has increased.

The rise in oil pushed gasoline prices higher, along with typical seasonal factors such as refinery maintenance and the switch from winter to summer gasoline to meet clean-air rules. The national average price of gasoline reached $2.66 per gallon, where it has held steady in recent days. The price is 99 cents cheaper than last year at this time, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express.

But many believe the surge in both oil and gasoline prices is near an end. Supplies of crude oil remain extremely high, and drillers who have been waiting on the sidelines for higher prices are ready to start producing more oil again.