Prospect of $2 gas pumps up Southwest Florida drivers - The News-Press

The 23-year-old, with sunglasses affixed and flecks of grass stuck to his face, has seen the price of gas decrease at the RaceTrac station near Interstate 75 in Fort Myers but not fast enough for him. In September, per-gallon gas prices could fall another 10 to 15 cents, then slide another 50 cents to about $2 a gallon by the end of the year as pump prices equalize with crude oil costs, said Tom Kloza, chief global analyst for the Oil Price... Many refiners, Kloza said, are earning gross profit margins of $50 to $60 a barrel, compared to normal margins of about $5. “These are very high numbers for gasoline, given the price of crude,” he said. Lower gas prices generally make for thicker wallets, said Bobby Collins, general sales manager at Coconut Point Ford in Estero. Even though oil prices are at a 6½-year low, pump prices stay surprisingly high because of many factors, one being a major refinery outage. If the price of oil stays low as expected, expect gas prices to follow, said Josh Carrasco, a spokesman for AAA. AAA forecasts that the price of gas by the end of the year will be “at or dip below $2 a gallon,” he said. And people tend to drive more when prices are low, Carrasco said. Source: www.news-press.com