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Europe helped sink oil prices as well. Some European countries are in recession and election results in France and Greece over the weekend threaten to derail the eurozone's plan for recovery. Oil is down nearly 12 percent since peaking near $110 per barrel in February. As oil prices fall, it becomes cheaper for refineries to make gasoline and other fuels, and some of that savings eventually gets passed along in the form of cheaper pump prices. Gasoline prices have tracked oil lower. The national average for gas is now $3.76 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's 20 cents cheaper than a year ago. The EIA says that gasoline prices should average $3.71 per gallon for all of 2012, down 10 cents from April's estimate. The EIA's forecast for next year is $3.67 per gallon. Lower gasoline prices will allow many drivers to keep a few extra dollars in their pocket every time they fill up. That could encourage more drivers to take their cars out for a spin this summer, but overall demand is expected to be lower than last year. MasterCard SpendingPulse said Tuesday that average gasoline demand fell 6.1 percent last week in the U.S. Its analysis of credit card purchases shows that American drivers have purchased less gasoline every week for more than a year.
[Associated
Press;
Economic Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
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Copyright 2012 The Associated
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