In our April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we estimate that U.S. retail gasoline prices this summer for regular-grade gasoline will average about $3.50 per gallon (gal), or about 80 cents/gal less than the price last summer, which was the highest price since summer 2014. The summer average includes retail prices from April through September. Lower forecast crude oil prices compared with last year are one of the primary reasons we forecast lower gasoline prices this summer. We estimate gasoline prices (despite being lower than last year) will increase slightly from current levels later in the summer because of seasonal factors and rising crude oil prices.