GasBuddy: Gasoline Prices To Be Lower in 2013

The average price of a gallon of gas in the U-S reached records highs in 2011 and 2012. But the Patrick DeHaan of the gasoline price tracking website GasBuddy.com predicts that gasoline prices will come down a bit for 2013, getting close to 2011 levels.

“The yearly average should not be as high as it was in 2012," said DeHaan. “Not only that, but we’re not expecting at this point any record prices to be breached, this year.”

GasBuddy.com’s price forecast for 2013 predicts gasoline prices to reach their peak level in April, drop to a plateau in the summer, and then continue their fall to the year’s end.  The least expensive month is forecast to be January, with a nationwide median price of $3.29 for a gallon of gas.

DeHaan says prices for this month may even be lower, since they’re currently fluctuating and even falling in some areas. The current average price for gas in Illinois is $3.34 a gallon, which DeHaan says is about 23 cents below the price a year ago.

“Prices in the Great Lakes (including Illinois) are moving lower, after they increased earlier this week,” said DeHaan. “So now, prices are moving downward in that area. But by and large, not nearly the increase that perhaps we expected several weeks ago.”

DeHaan says gasoline prices are stagnant nationwide because of a big buildup in gasoline inventories, according to the US Energy Department’s weekly petroleum report.