Economy Watch: Slumping Gas Prices Good News for Retailers
August 11, 2016 | by Dees Stribling | Commercial Property Executive
With gas prices expected to fall in the next few months, the more consumers will likely spend on other things, which is good news for retailers.
Another good-news report for retailers ahead of the retail sales numbers coming late this week: the Energy Information Agency expects the retail price of regular gasoline to average $2.19 per gallon during the 2016 summer driving season (April through September), 6 cents per gallon lower than it projected in last month, and 44 cents lower than the average in summer 2015.
Not only that, the EIA expects that the U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline, which reached a peak of $2.37 per gallon in June, to fall to an average of $2.05 in September. And then it will fall to an average of $1.92 in December.