Gasoline prices: How does under $3 a gallon sound this summer?

Fri, May 9, 2025, 1:33 PM 2 min read

Gasoline prices are expected to accelerate a catch-up — successful a bully mode — implicit the coming weeks, to bespeak a caller tumble successful lipid futures.

The nationalist mean for gasoline stood astatine $3.14 per gallon connected Friday, according to AAA data. That's astir $0.04 little than a week agone and astir $0.50 little than the aforesaid clip past year. More costly summertime blends and refinery attraction sent prices astatine the pump seasonally higher successful March.

While prices eased somewhat successful April, a bigger interaction of falling lipid prices is yet to beryllium seen.

"Given gasoline inventories declining, we haven't seen state prices driblet astir arsenic overmuch arsenic lipid prices," GasBuddy caput of petroleum investigation Patrick De Haan told Yahoo Finance. "But with refinery attraction play wrapping up, I bash deliberation there's becoming a coagulated accidental that we could spot the nationalist mean beneath $3 per gallon this summertime arsenic inventories volition apt soon commencement to grow."

At slightest 23 states already are seeing an mean beneath $3 per gallon, including Texas and the remainder of the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, and adjacent parts of New England, similar Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire.

On Friday, lipid prices notched play gains of much than 4% aft touching their lowest level successful 4 years connected Monday implicit expectations of a boost successful proviso portion commercialized war-sparked request worries linger.

West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures closed conscionable supra $61 per barrel. Brent crude (BZ=F), the planetary benchmark, besides roseate to settee beneath $64.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries precocious agreed to boost accumulation levels adjacent period by the aforesaid summation arsenic successful May. Wall Street anticipates the cartel volition apt rise output successful July, putting further unit connected prices.

Year-to-date futures are down much than 14%.

"Our cardinal condemnation remains that precocious spare capableness and precocious recession hazard skew the risks to lipid prices to the downside contempt comparatively choky spot fundamentals," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote connected Sunday night.

In April, crude lipid prices capped their worst monthly driblet since November 2021 amid fears implicit a planetary economical downturn and request daze from President Trump's tariff policy.

President Trump has made little vigor costs a cornerstone of his administration.

"While the caller de-escalation successful commercialized talks has reduced the probability of a carnivore case, the 'Trump put' does not widen to energy, arsenic the medication continues to prioritize little lipid prices to negociate inflation," JPMorgan analysts wrote past week.

Ines Ferre is simply a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her connected X astatine @ines_ferre.