--- title: Here's How Low Gas Prices Could Go This Summer description: Experts forecast that gas prices will be much cheaper this summer, with average fuel costs ranging from $3.35 to $3.85 per gallon. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 602 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z' modified: '2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - Gas prices - News word_count: 545 canonical: https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo of a woman pumping gas](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Heres-how-high-gas-prices-heading-summer.jpg?crop=0px%2C51px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Almost a year ago, gas prices reached a record high over $5 per gallon. While prices could very well rise in the months ahead, experts say the national average isn't likely to pass $4 this summer. The average gallon of gas in the U.S. now costs $3.55, which is 2.7 cents more than a week ago, according to GasBuddy. The price comparison app [forecasts in a new report](https://www.gasbuddy.com/go/summer-driving-season-kicks-off-with-rising-gas-prices) that the national average will hover between $3.35 and $3.85 during the warm months. That means the average [cost for gas](https://money.com/how-to-save-money-on-gas/) could rise by about 30 cents per gallon, but prices are not expected to shoot up in the near term, nor should they come anywhere near the record highs of last summer. “Gasoline prices have drifted higher in the last week due to some relatively minor refinery kinks and low gasoline supply, but it may not be a trend that lasts too much longer,” said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. ## If you're struggling to make ends meet, a Personal Loan can help. ### Are you less than prepared for extraordinary events? If you need funds to cover unexpected costs, a Personal Loan is a solution. Click on your state to learn more. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/ua8c040f3e01?ap_referrer=%2Fgas-prices-forecast-summer-2023%2F) ## What experts say Increased demand for gas around the holiday may have caused prices to rise last week, according to Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for the auto club AAA. But he said in a [recent report](https://gasprices.aaa.com/gas-prices-creep-higher-as-drivers-fuel-up-ahead-of-memorial-day/) that prices “could stabilize or fall once this long weekend is in the rearview mirror.” - However, later in the summer, gas could get more expensive if oil prices rise. That’s a possibility if Congress passes a [debt ceiling deal](https://money.com/debt-ceiling-questions-answers/), or if a [recession](https://money.com/recession-poll-saving-money/) starts to appear less likely, according to GasBuddy. The idea is that positive economic news this like would signal higher oil demand, potentially leading to higher oil and gas prices. - Other hypotheticals like gasoline demand being higher than expected this summer or weather events impacting refineries could lead to higher prices. - Crude oil, which accounts for 51% of what you pay for a gallon of gas, was trading just below $70 per barrel on Tuesday, down about $6 in the past month, according to the West Texas Intermediate measure. ## Where gas prices are highest (and lowest) Gas prices are more than $1 lower than they were at the same time last year when the national average was $4.60 and on a rise [toward a record high](https://money.com/gas-prices-painful-facts/) just above $5 in June. While gas prices have only been this high a few times in the past decade, today’s costs may feel less shocking to drivers who’ve been paying high prices for more than a year at this point going back to [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine](https://money.com/gas-prices-russia-ukraine/) in early 2022. As always, what you pay for gas depends a lot on where you’re filling up. State-to-state differences in [gas taxes and fees](https://money.com/gas-taxes-by-state-map/) are among the reasons that prices tend to vary widely. The average price of gas is currently below $3 in just one state, Mississippi, while the highest 10% of stations in the U.S. have an average price of $4.73 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. - The most expensive states for gas right now are California ($4.77), Hawaii ($4.71), Washington ($4.60), Arizona ($4.47) and Nevada ($4.21). - The five cheapest states are Mississippi ($2.96), Louisiana ($3.09), Texas ($3.09), Arkansas ($3.12) and Alabama ($3.14). ## Personal Loans can help you in your time of need ### A Personal Loan from Credible can help you mitigate losses and get back on track. Click here to explore your options! [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/h3be78fab156?ap_referrer=%2Fgas-prices-forecast-summer-2023%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gas Prices", "item": "https://money.com/gas-prices/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here's How Low Gas Prices Could Go This Summer" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/", "name": "Here's How Low Gas Prices Could Go This Summer", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Here's How Low Gas Prices Could Go This Summer", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Heres-how-high-gas-prices-heading-summer.jpg?crop=0px%2C51px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Heres-how-high-gas-prices-heading-summer" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/peter.png?w=350&h=430&crop=1", "email": "peter.grieve@money.com", "jobTitle": "Lead News Reporter", "alumniOf": "University of Chicago, BA Political Science", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/pete_grieve", "https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138", "https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z", "description": "Experts forecast that gas prices will be much cheaper this summer, with average fuel costs ranging from $3.35 to $3.85 per gallon.", "abstract": "Experts forecast that gas prices will be much cheaper this summer, with average fuel costs ranging from $3.35 to $3.85 per gallon.", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-forecast-summer-2023/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2023-05-30T18:49:13.000Z", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "wordCount": 545, "keywords": [ "Gas prices", "News" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Political economy", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gas prices", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_prices" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economy", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy" ] } ] } ] } ```