The price at the pumps is headed down and could fall closer to the $2-a-gallon level in the fall.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The AAA reports that gasoline prices are falling despite record demand and that average prices could tumble even faster this month.
Refineries are running close to full capacity, pushing prices down at the pumps every day for the last 17 days in a row.
The declines began in July. Today's average national price is $2.63 a gallon. Ohio's average price is among lowest in the nation at $2.37.
After Sept. 15, when most states switch to cheaper winter blends, prices could easily slide close to $2 a gallon in some areas, the AAA predicts.
Another expert, Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service, said Ohio could see individual station prices below $2 a gallon in the fall.
Here are some of the "driving forces" behind the falling prices:
- Oil prices are again well under $50 a barrel and could go even lower.
- Demand is expected to drop dramatically after Labor Day when summer vacations are over and the kids are back to school.
So what could go wrong and keep those prices from falling more?
- Unexpected refinery or pipeline problems could cut supplies.
- War in the Middle East.
- Oil prices could somehow recover for other reasons, though this is not anticipated.
- Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico could slow imports or damage Gulf Coast refineries, though weather experts are calling for a lighter than normal hurricane season, which typically ends in late November.