Here's what to expect from gas prices as summer driving season begins

[mystery-ak]

Here's what to expect from gas prices as summer driving season begins
by Breanne Deppisch, Energy and Environment Reporter
May 27, 2023 05:00 AM

Millions of drivers in the United States are slated to hit the road this Memorial Day weekend, but the expected spike in demand isn't expected to send gasoline prices anywhere near last year's record highs.

Roughly 37 million people are expected to drive this holiday weekend, with road trips up 6% from the same point last year, according to AAA.

Current national gas averages stand at just $3.57 per gallon — or roughly $1.02 less than the same point in 2022.

And gas prices aren’t expected to see a spike nearly as painful as last year's, when prices soared to their highest-ever national average of $5.02 per gallon, according to AAA.

The Energy Information Administration projected in its most recent short-term energy outlook that U.S. gasoline prices will average around $3.40 per gallon this summer.

That's primarily due to lower crude oil prices, which account for more than half of U.S. retail gasoline prices. Average spot prices for international benchmark Brent crude are averaging $41 per barrel lower compared to May 2022, according to the EIA.

And oil markets are much more comfortably supplied compared to last year, when fears about Russian production loomed large and sent future projections skyrocketing.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/what-to-expect-gas-prices-summer-driving-season

[Smokin Joe]

Where possible, drilling and development have been fairly steady, even if at somewhat reduced levels compared to pre-COVID numbers. It is that period in activity where the most seasoned hands are kept, new ones trained, and innovation leads the way toward greater efficiency and lower drilling costs. Those seemingly minor advancements will carry over when the next boom happens, and in areas not allowed to be drilled or where takeaway capacities put a drag on development, awaiting more infrastructure.

This is not the political climate for such advances. Sooner or later, that will change, or we'll see another depression. Some essential jobs cannot be done from home.