Gas prices are expected to go up for the second year in a row, costing American motorists billions more in fuel costs. According to the GasBuddy.com forecast, national gas prices are expected to rise by 19 cents to $2.57 in 2018. That's almost 50 cents higher than 2016, when gas averaged $2.12 a gallon, the lowest in the last decade.
Gas prices are expected to be even higher in urban areas such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C., where gas prices could top $3 per gallon.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says the increase is mostly due to OPEC. He says the intergovernmental organization of 14 oil producing nations "bears much of the responsibility for cutting oil production, leading oil inventories to begin 2018 nearly 50 million barrels lower than a year ago."
The typical American household is expected to spend about $1,900 this year on gas, over $100 more than last year. The total amount Americans will spend on fuel is $364.6 billion, an increase of about $25 billion from last year.
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