ARKANSAS (KFSM) -- People planning road trips later this year and even into next year can expect gas prices to remain about the same, according to the Department of Energy.
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Northwest Arkansas is about $1.98 as of Friday evening (July 14), according to Gasbuddy.com.
At that same time, drivers in the River Valley are paying an average of anywhere from $1.90 to $1.96 a gallon. Prices vary from gas station to gas station and therefore can be more or less than the average.
A short-term energy outlook by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, showed that the average unleaded gasoline price in the U.S. is expected to slightly increase in August, before starting a downward trend in September.
The outlook predicts prices to rebound near current averages by May 2018.
Diesel fuel prices are projected to rise gradually through the next 12 months, according to the outlook of U.S. averages.
The takeaway: no major jump in gas prices is forecasted for the remainder of 2017 and into summer of 2018.