It is anticipated that next year, the years of above-average gas prices will begin to subside, saving drivers in the United States tens of billions of dollars.
Following a projected average of $3.53 per gallon in 2023, energy experts project that regular gasoline will average less than $3.40 per gallon in 2024. Reasons for the decrease, however slight, include local increases in oil production and processing capacity, less inflation, and reduced worldwide volatility caused by the pandemic and Russia. According to GasBuddy, an app that tracks gas prices, Americans may expect to save $32 billion.
While GasBuddy has estimated that regular gasoline would cost $3.38 per gallon in 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has projected that the national average will be $3.36. Diesel prices are expected to fall from last year’s average of $4.22 per gallon, with the EIA predicting $3.95 and GasBuddy putting it at $3.87.
GasBuddy predicts prices will peak in May, close to Memorial Day, at over $3.70 per gallon, with January seeing the lowest at around $3.11. Annual family fuel expenditure is anticipated to be around $2,400, a decrease of 2% from 2023 and an increase of more than 12% from 2022.
On Thursday, AAA reported that the national average price of regular gasoline was $3.12 per gallon, down one penny from a year earlier.
The White House and President Biden’s reelection campaign are sure to be pleased by the news. After years of being criticized by Republicans and voters for excessive expenses, Mr. Biden drained the nation’s oil stockpile to its lowest level since 1983 to curb prices.
However, presidents do not have much sway over the energy sector, which is highly susceptible to fluctuations in supply and demand.
Both this year and next are anticipated to see record-breaking domestic oil output. The Energy Information Administration predicts that daily average production will rise from 12.9 million barrels in 2023 to 13.1 million in 2024, an increase of almost 200,000 barrels. The organization predicted that the U.S. oil market benchmark, WTI Crude, would rise by around 50 cents per barrel, reaching about $78 in 2024.
