Those cheaper gas prices are beginning to show some real benefits for U.S. households. The average U.S. household is expected to spend about $550 less on gasoline in 2015 compared with 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Households are expected to spend $1,962 next year, EIS said. The lower expenditures are attributable to lower gas prices as well as more fuel-efficient cars and trucks that reduce the number of gallons used to travel a given distance.
The projection is dependent EIA’s gas price projection which has historically been uncertain. If the group is right, 2015 will be the first time since 2009 that average households have spent less than $2,000 on gasoline.
EIA’s latest forecasts that crude oil prices will average $68 per barrel in 2015. The current values of futures and options contracts show high uncertainty regarding the price outlook. For example, futures contracts for March 2015 delivery traded during the five-day period ending December 4 averaged $67/barrel.
Increases in fuel economy are also helping lower motor fuel expenditures, as cars and trucks travel farther on a gallon of gasoline. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the fuel economy of cars has increased from 23.1 miles per gallon (mpg) in 2005 cars to almost 28 mpg in 2014, an increase of about 21 percent. Similarly, the fuel economy for trucks has increased 19 percent
In recent years, gasoline expenditures have accounted for about 5 percent of household expenditures.
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