As the price of crude oil continues to plummet, U.S. drivers are reaping the benefits at the gasoline pump, saving $14 billion, or $115 per household, compared to the previous year, FuelFix.com reports.
The numbers come from a year-end AAA study. AAA spokesperson Avery Ash tells FuelFix.com that he expects prices to remain low in 2015. Depressed prices throughout the next year could add up to between $50 billion and $70 billion in savings, Ash says.
But Ash notes that it’s difficult to forecast how long oil prices may stay low. Though the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has held its production levels steady, low oil prices could eventually cause a drop in production, leading to less supply on the market, Ash says.
Despite the uncertainties, analysts have said it could take until 2016 for global demand to send the price of oil into a recovery, FuelFix.com reports.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was $2.26 today, the lowest price since May 12, 2009, and in four states—Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio and Indiana—the price averages less than $2.
Today’s average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.11 in Louisiana, according to AAA. Read the full story.
