U.S. cuts gas price forecast again

(AP) The Energy Department again slashed its prediction for next year’s average price of gasoline across the U.S., this time to $2.60 a gallon. That would be 23 percent below this year’s projected average and the lowest full-year average since 2009. If that comes to pass, the price drop will save U.S. drivers $100 billion over the course of the year based on current consumption levels. That will boost the overall economy by reducing shipping and transportation costs, and leaving consumers more money to spend on other things. In its most recent short-term energy outlook, released Tuesday, the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration cut its gasoline price forecast for 2015 by 35 cents a gallon. It was the second time in two months that the EIA cut the forecast by more than 30 cents a gallon.