WEST LAFAYETTE — Declining demand for gasoline coupled with increased oil refining capacity in the U.S. should help to keep the price of gas this summer below $4 per gallon in the Midwest barring any disruption of supply, Purdue University energy economist Wally Tyner says.
Tyner expects pump prices to run about 6 cents higher than last summer and typically range between $3.45 and $3.90 per gallon, except in the Chicago area, where gas prices are higher because of clean-air rules.
But he cautions: “As you might expect, it depends. There are no certainties.” Prices could go higher over short periods if supplies are disrupted anywhere in the system, said Tyner, the James and Lois Ackerman Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics.
