Summer Oil Prices to Be On Par With Last Year, Higher Than 2010, Experts Say

Oil prices seem to constantly be on the minds and lips of Americans, and while we pay considerably less for gas than much of the world, the cost of fuel is something that causes a great deal of economic handwringing in the US.

Often of great concern are predicted oil prices for the coming months as well as summer oil prices, when many Americans hope to be able to afford to drive kids to the beach, the pool, grandma’s house or even, if they’re lucky, a vacation or two during the sunny weather.

In recent years, oil prices have been astronomical and threatening to become volcanic, inhibiting the economy, influencing politics and quashing vacation plans nationwide. Oil prices are a bummer, man.

And while the bad news is that significant relief is not on the horizon for the summer, the good news is that the $5 a gallon gas doom and gloomsayers predicted a few months back isn’t likely to come to pass either- at least, not for the oil prices expected for summer 2012.

Oil Price Information Service Chief Oil Analyst Tom Kloza appeared on a CBS morning show to discuss oil prices and the expected summer average, and explained:

“We’re going to see $3, $3.10 in places like the Southeast. We’re gonna see $.25, $4.50 in the Northwest. So, it’s a little bit like having a couple of governors, and one of them being Chris Christie (of New Jersey) and saying, ‘The average weight of the governor is this.'”

Kloza continued:

“The Northwest is going to be will be very high for awhile, but the whole country should calm down. And it’ll be about the price we paid last year, but considerably more than 2010.”

Oil prices are expected to allow an average of $3.79 a gallon gas this summer.