The U.S. national average retail gasoline and diesel prices are expected to be the highest since 2014 during this year's summer driving season, with gasoline prices expected to average $3.84 per gallon from April through September, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.
Higher crude oil prices due to the Russian war in Ukraine are expected to keep American gasoline prices high this summer, with the average retail regular gasoline up to $3.84 per gallon from last summer's average price of $3.06/gal, the EIA said.
Brent Crude prices are forecast by the EIA to average $106 per barrel this summer, which would be $35 a barrel higher than in the summer of 2021.
The ongoing effects of the pandemic will have a smaller effect on gasoline and diesel consumption in the United States this summer season compared with the past two summers, while overall, U.S. gasoline and diesel demand continues to remain below the respective 2019 averages, the administration noted.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. hit a fresh multi-year high in March at over $4.30 per gallon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine roiled the global oil market and led to wild swings and prices surging above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.
As of April 19, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.101 a gallon, slightly up from April 18 and from a week ago, but down from $4.262/gal a month ago, according to AAA data.
"The slide in gas prices slowed to a crawl over concerns about increased global oil prices and the return of seasonal domestic gas demands," AAA said on Monday.
"As the days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and pump prices dip from their record highs, consumers feel more confident about hitting the road," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said.
"But these lower pump prices could be temporary if the global price of oil increases due to constrained supply," Gross added.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More