WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department lowered its forecast for the annual average price for gasoline in 2015 by more than 10 percent because of falling oil prices.
The Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the Energy Department, said in its short-term market report for November it expected the average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline to be $2.94 next year.
Motor club AAA reports a national average price Thursday of $2.91 per gallon. Citing an average for the week ending No. 3 of $2.99 per gallon, EIA said gasoline prices are at their lowest level in nearly four years.
"U.S. regular gasoline retail prices are projected to continue to decline for the remainder of the year to an average of $2.80 per gallon in December," EIA said in the market report published Wednesday.
The December forecast is 33 cents lower than anticipated in the October market report. The expected average price for next year is 13 percent less than the previous month's forecast and is "driven largely by falling crude oil prices."
More than 60 percent of the price at the pump is a reflection of crude oil prices, which have shed more than 20 percent of their value since June.
It was late September last time the U.S. average price for gasoline increased.
