Gas Prices Get Low, Stay Low: You Could Be Paying Under $2 Per Gallon Soon

(Mike Mozart)

If you’re planning an end-of-the-summer road trip, you’re in luck: Gas prices across the country are pretty low right now, dropping about 6% in the last month to just $2.59 a gallon on average. But if you’re planning to hit the highways and byways this fall, your luck is about to get even better at the pump, as experts say gas prices could fall below $2 a gallon next month.

Though both oil and gas prices are down right now, gas will get even cheaper after Sept. 15, when stations are no longer required to sell the more expensive summer blend of gasoline that meets environmental standards. Once that less-expensive gas hits stations and peak summertime demand slows down, it’s likely that gas prices will drop steeply.

“There will be thousands, even tens of thousands of stations below $2 by the time we’re into football season,” Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks retail prices for AAA told CNNMoney. Today there are only 50 stations nationwide that are below $2, he adds.

Crude oil is down by 16% right now, which could bode well for customers at the pump during September and October’s anticipated gasoline glut.

“If you have these crude oil prices in the autumn, you’d be looking at prices 60 to 70 cents lower than today,” Kloza said.

Gas prices poised for a steep drop [CNNMoney]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist