Summer gasoline will be cheapest in 12 years

Record demand seen for travel season

Drivers heading out on summer vacation will pay the lowest gasoline prices in 12 years.

Prices will average 59 cents a gallon less at the pump this summer than a year ago and $1.55 below 2014, when oil prices peaked above $100 a barrel, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.

Gasoline demand this summer will increase 1.4 percent from last year to a record. U.S. prices will average just above $2 a gallon during the summer driving season.

“Low pump prices and continuing growth in employment contribute to more driving, resulting in a forecast of record-high gasoline demand this summer,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said. “For all of 2016, the average household will save about $350 on gasoline purchases compared to last year.”

In Memphis, pump prices have been trending up from about $1.45 per gallon in early winter and currently range from $1.62 to $1.87 at stations throughout the area, notes gasbuddy.com, a Maryland-based website that relies on motorists for price information. Last July, Memphis prices topped $2.50 per gallon at some stations.

Unleaded regular prices currently average $1.86 in Arkansas, $1.88 per gallon in Mississippi and Tennessee, and $2.08 nationwide.

Americans might save as much as $15 billion on gasoline during June, July and August, compared to the same period last year, which would work out to about $70 per licensed driver, according to Michael Green, a spokesman in Washington for AAA, the nation’s largest motoring group.

U.S. refiners are running at a record pace for this time of year after a global glut of crude sent prices tumbling to the lowest in more than 12 years in February.

Crude oil prices are 19 percent below last year at this time, even after rebounding on speculation that oil producers including Russia and Saudi Arabia will reach a deal Sunday to cap output.

Oil rose 4.5 percent in New York on Tuesday on reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a consensus on a production freeze.

EIA officials predict regulargrade gasoline will average $2.04 a gallon nationwide from April through September.

Americans are forecast to increase driving 2.6 percent this year, the EIA said.