Gas Tracking Website: .99 Cent Gas Possible In The Midwest
UNDATED - The gas-tracking website gasbuddy.com says some Midwestern states could see gas prices drop below a dollar a gallon later this year.
In a news release today (Tuesday), they say:
"the cheapest gasoline prices in over twelve years are showing up in some lucky states in the heart of the nation, with previously unthinkable 99-cent gasoline becoming a strong possibility as wholesale gas prices plunge amidst growing supply."
GasBuddy reports that nine states in the nation are currently witnessing the lowest average gasoline prices since early 2004: Oklahoma ($1.37), Indiana ($1.46), Kansas ($1.46), Ohio ($1.48), Michigan ($1.49), Minnesota ($1.52), Wisconsin ($1.54), Illinois ($1.57) and North Dakota ($1.63) as oil refiners offer bargain basement prices to rid themselves of winter-spec gasoline ahead of a pending shift to cleaner burning fuel.
Area gas prices as of today (Tuesday):
Royalton is at $1.39
Rice is at $1.46
Avon is at $1.49
Clearwater is at $1.52
Foley is at $1.54
Cold Spring is at $1.54
Meanwhile, gasoline under $2 a gallon? For a whole year? That's the government's latest forecast.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday in its monthly short-term energy outlook that regular gasoline will average $1.98 a gallon nationwide in 2016.
If the forecast is right, it will be the first time since 2004 that U.S. drivers have paid a full-year average of under $2 a gallon.