Analysts expect gas prices to keep dropping into the summer

As the summer travel season gets underway, a lot of us are enjoying lower gas prices than we might have expected earlier this spring.

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded stands at $3.59 right now. That's down six cents, from $3.65 a gallon one week ago.

Virginia's average is now at $3.40 a gallon. That's down a nickel from this time last week.

Prices have gone down a little bit in the Roanoke area as well. We're paying about $3.27 a gallon right now, down three cents from last week.


“For the second straight year, gas prices have dropped ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, rather than the first holiday weekend of the summer season boasting the highest gas prices of the season," said Martha Meade, of AAA Mid-Atlantic, in a press release. "Analysts believe prices will continue to drop, perhaps to as low as $3.00 to $3.25 per gallon in some parts of the country this summer.”

Analysts expect the downward trend to continue or even level off at some point this summer. AAA Mid-Atlantic says prices always move lower from Labor Day to Election Day. The organization says it doesn't have anything to do with politics, though. It says it's more about the fact that crude oil becomes cheaper at that time of year.