2013 was much friendlier to drivers' wallets at pump than recent years.
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, 2013’s national gas prices averaged $3.49, the lowest average since 2010.
The 2013 average was also significantly lower than 2012’s record breaking average of $3.60.
Delaware fared slightly better than most states with an average of $3.46, three cents lower than the national average.
Jana Tidwell of AAA Mid-Atlantic says we can expect a continued decrease in 2014.
“We’re not expecting a dramatic shift in gas prices for 2014," said Tidwell noting that any changes would probably go unrecognized by the average consumer. "We’re not expecting gas prices to jump during 2014”
Tidwell says there are a lot of factors that go into predicting gas prices for the year ahead.
“Overall production, the stockpiles of crude oil and gasoline that we have here, and we also look at demand trends," said Tidwell. "Demand is driven by the economy and we’ve seen economic indicators show that while the economy is not rebounding like gangbusters, we are seeing signs of recovery.”
Tidwell added that the relatively quiet hurricane season allowed production in the Gulf of Mexico to continue virtually uninterrupted.
Despite 2013’s downward trend, prices at the pump in the First State were up to open 2014 according to AAA The average price for a gallon of regular in Delaware rose two cents over the last seven days – from $3.46 to $3.48.
That remains 16 cents higher that the national average and six cents above what First State drivers were paying a year ago when a gallon of regular stood at about $3.42.