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Feds see gasoline prices stabilizing
By Palm Beach Business.com
DELRAY BEACH — The good news for drivers from the Energy Department: gasoline prices likely have peaked this driving season. The bad news: while prices aren’t likely to rise, they’re not likely to fall much either.
The Energy Information Administration’s latest short-term energy outlook says regular gasoline prices peaked at a national average of $3.96 a gallon during the first half of last month as flooding on the Mississippi and its tributaries expectedly shut down refineries even as crude oil prices fell. For all of May a gallon of regular averaged $3.91.
The forecast is for an average of $3.75 a gallon for the full driving season, which began in April and continues through September. A year ago, regular averaged $2.76 during that period.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge report, a gallon of regular is averaging $3.782 in Palm Beach County, down from $3.985 a month ago. The national average is $3.748.
The EIA is expecting crude oil prices to rise somewhat in 2012 as world demand grows faster than supplies from non-OPEC countries. It sees crude averaging $104 a barrel this year and rising to $108 in 2012.
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