AAA Makes Predictions for Autumn Gas Prices

AAA released its weekly Fuel Gauge Report Tuesday, in which the agency predicts gas prices will continue to fall from now until Christmas.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.81, down 4.9 cents from a week ago.

In the Philadelphia region, the average price is slightly higher at $3.91, down 4.5 cents from last week. That also marks a decrease of 11.8 cents over the past month.

However, prices are considerably higher than this time last year: 31.8 cents higher in Philadelphia, and 30.5 cents higher nationally. The good news is that AAA predicts prices will fall through Christmas, a trend that has held true in seven of the past nine years.

According to AAA, prices rose steeply in the summer months in conjunction with rising global crude oil prices, striking a peak of $99 a barrel the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a third round of Quantitative Easing. However, prices have fallen since, closing at $91.93 on the NYMEX exchange Monday.