About a year ago, the price for a barrel of oil dropped like a rock. Consumers salivated because they knew lower gas prices were on the horizon. In the 2015 cber.co Colorado Economic Forecast it was projected that consumers would save an average of one dollar a gallon from lower prices at the pump, or a total of $780.
The following calculations were made to determine the difference in cost to purchase gasoline for the periods July to June (2013-14 and 2014-15). The annual cost assumes that a person fills a car with 15 gallons of gas per week, or 780 gallons per year.
The costs and the savings for the United States are listed below.
2013-14
• 780 gallons, average price per gallon $3.51
• Total cost = $2,774.69
2014-15
• 780 gallons, average price per gallon $2.88
• Total cost = $2,281.63
• The 2014-15 costs were $493.05 less than 2013-14.
The costs and the savings for Colorado are listed below.
2013-14
• 780 gallons, average price per gallon $3.41
• Total cost = $2,692.02
• The costs in Colorado were $82.67 less than the U.S.
2014-15
• 780 gallons, average price per gallon $2.80
• Total cost = $2,213.51
• The costs in Colorado were $68.12 less than the U.S.
• The 2014-15 costs were $478.51 less than 2013-14.
Check back in six months to see if gas prices remained low and how much lower they were than last year.
Source: EIA.gov – All Formulations and All Grades.