2016 gas prices should please NJ drivers

"Talk about starting the New Year off right", says GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan.

Fuel prices remained at the lower levels throughout 2015 due in part to a worldwide surplus of crude oil, creating more supply than demand and falling prices.

AAA, which compiles gas price information from around the country, is projecting that gas prices will stay lower in the year ahead - maybe even lower than this year. In Vermont, the average price is $2.14 per gallon, and in ME, it's $2.07.

Ohio's prices continue running below the national average for regular gas, which was $1.99 to start this week.

The average price is 6.8 cents more than one week ago, 29.9 cents higher than one month ago and 40.8 cents greater than one year ago. In Ocala, the average price was unchanged at $2.01.

The good news for the drivers is that, the same trend is likely to follow even in 2016 with oil prices continuing to be low.

A global glut of oil is keeping prices down, along with the easy access to Gulf Coast refineries in many southern states, including Texas.

The current national average is hovering around the $2 mark, with the December average at $2.01, the lowest average since March of 2009.

It's important to note that tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have increased the price of oil as of Monday.

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