NEW YORK — Some relief from suffocating gas prices will likely arrive just in time for summer vacation. Expect a drop of nearly 50 cents a gallon as early as June, analysts say.
After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44 straight days of increases, the national average this past week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow.
It might not be enough to evoke cheers from people who recall gas stations charging less than $3 a gallon last year. But it would ease the burden on drivers. And it might help lift consumer spending, which powers about 70 percent of the economy. A 50-cent drop in prices would save U.S. drivers about $189 million a day.
Typically, gas prices peak each spring, then fall into a summertime swoon that can last several weeks. This year’s decline should be gradual but steady, said Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service.
Some drivers might not notice much of a price drop at first, Rozell said. When average gas prices fluctuate nationally, some areas are affected more than others. In cities with many service stations, for instance, prices can be slower to fall. After the galloping surge in prices this year, many gas station owners are reluctant to lower prices until they see their competition doing the same, Rozell said.
“It’s just the nature of the business,” he said. “They’re going to try to get the most they can.”
A drop in prices would take some pressure off struggling consumers as well as businesses. As prices soared this year, surveys showed that motorists started to drive less. MasterCard SpendingPulse said this past week that it had recorded its sixth straight week of declining gasoline consumption.
Numbers
91 cents Increase in the average price of a gallon of gas since January
50 cents Expected decrease in gas prices by as early as June
$189 million Savings to American consumers per day that a 50-cent drop would bring
