The price of crude oil slipped to about $50 a barrel Monday as gas prices in Houston dropped to $2.27 a gallon. The nationwide average is up one penny from last week to $2.42 a gallon.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, says while prices have risen in recent weeks, he's not expecting much to change, even with the busy summer travel season approaching.
“Gas prices ultimately will probably settle somewhere from 15 to 25 cents a gallon more than they were last year, but overall that's going to keep them somewhere in the low to mid-$2 a gallon range,” he says.
While oil companies and state lawmakers look forward to profitting from higher prices, DeHaan says OPEC's decision to scale back means prices at the pump should remain steady.
“Certainly they'll remain a little higher than last year, but oil companies continue to increase production at about $50 a barrel and gas prices are still close to the five-year low.”