by Calculated Risk on 3/31/2013 10:59:00 AM

From the USA Today: Pain at the pump: Have gas prices peaked for 2013?

After surging nearly 60 cents a gallon from late December to a recent peak of $3.79 on Feb. 27, prices have fallen for 25 of the past 29 days. Nationally, regular grade gas averages $3.64 a gallon -- 28 cents below year-ago levels.

The month-long drop has come at a time when gasoline prices typically climb, prompting some industry forecasters to rethink early 2013 estimates of $4 a gallon or higher by the peak summer driving season.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for price tracker GasBuddy.com, now expects average prices to peak at $3.64 to $3.69, versus the $3.95 he predicted in January.

The following graph shows the recent decrease in gasoline prices. Gasoline prices have been on a roller coaster over the last year.

Note: If you click on "show crude oil prices", the graph displays oil prices for WTI, not Brent; gasoline prices in most of the U.S. are impacted more by Brent prices.

Orange County Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com

Yesterday:
• Summary for Week Ending March 29th
• Schedule for Week of March 31st