Average retail gasoline prices in Maine fell 7.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.37 a gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,228 gas outlets in the state.

This compares with the national average that has remained stable over the past week at $2.42 a gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in Maine during the past week, prices are $1.24 per gallon lower than the same day one year ago, although 6.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

Looking ahead to the summer, both GasBuddy and the federal Energy Information Administration are predicting prices to remain low, but variable by region.

“Gasoline trends are all over the place, depending on where in the country motorists are,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst.

Much of the country saw prices falling, DeHaan said, while the Great Lakes, plagued by refinery issues, saw prices up more than a dime. Prices also were up in the Rockies.

“The coming week shows nothing guaranteed but uncertainty,” DeHaan said, “as refiners begin finishing maintenance season, boosting production, and beginning to draw down on oil inventories that are setting records. This recipe will likely bring the lowest summer gasoline prices since 2010.”

That outlook was in line with short-term predictions from the federal government. Its energy-forecasting agency expects regular gasoline retail prices, which averaged $3.36 a gallon in 2014, to average $2.39 a gallon 2015. Lower prices will lead the average household to spend $710 less for gasoline in 2015, compared with last year, the EIA said.


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