Holiday travelers enjoyed some relief at the pump. More could come.
Cory Spiers
editor@mitchellnews.com
After a year that featured plenty of pain at the pumps, good news may be on the horizon in 2023.
GasBuddy this past week released its 2023 Fuel Outlook, which predicts the national average price of gas to drop nearly 50 cents per gallon from that of 2022. Prices are projected to fall to a national average of $3.49 per gallon this year.
Refinery capacity will help drop gasoline and diesel prices, the report states. Uncertainty over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine remains a factor, though.
The national average price of gas may be lower early this year as demand is seasonably low. The typical rise in demand starts late in winter and prices slowly rise in time for summer.
Prices typically rise in the spring and drop after Labor Day as fall approaches.
Americans are projected to spend about $470.8 billion on gas this year. That’s down $55 billion from 2022, GasBuddy’s report says. The estimated yearly household spend on gasoline is projected to fall $277 to $2,471 this year.
“2023 is not going to be a cakewalk for motorists. It could be expensive,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “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. Basically, curveballs are coming from every direction.”
GasBuddy projects that gas prices will top out in June, to a peak of up to $4.19 per gallon on average.
For now, though, there’s some relief at the pumps. Holiday travelers recently enjoyed lower gas prices.
After a June 2022 peak, the average price per gallon dropped $1.94 nationally. As of the end of December, 26 states had average prices below $3.
In Mitchell County, most local stations were under $2.80 during the holidays. The Valero stations in Spruce Pine hovered at $2.79 for several days with the Spruce Pine Ingles featuring prices several cents lower.
At the end of 2022, $2.99 was the most common gas price in the United States. When 2023 began, more than 25 cities in the United States had average diesel prices below $3.99 per gallon.
“While we’re closing out the year on a positive note, challenges remain that could drive prices up again next spring,” De Haan said. “Motorists might want to keep their expectations in check and enjoy the sub-$3 gasoline while they can.”