WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices will be 11 cents cheaper, on average, in 2013 than a year ago, according to a new forecast from the Energy Information Agency.
The weekly U.S. average regular gasoline price fell by 18 cents per gallon during September, ending the month at $3.43 per gallon. The agency's forecast for the average cost for a gallon of gas is $3.34 per gallon in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a report in the San Francisco Gate.
The annual average price of gasoline, which was $3.63 per gallon in 2012, is expected to be $3.52 per gallon in 2013 and $3.40 per gallon in 2014.
Since peaking at $3.78 a gallon in late February, gasoline prices have beaten a choppy retreat for most of 2013. The end of the year usually brings lower gasoline prices as refiners switch to less-expensive grades than they run in the warmer months.
That 11 cents in annual savings translates into about $40 million a day in direct consumer expense, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service and GasBuddy.com.
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