Summer driving season starting with low gas prices

This year, unusually low gas prices are accompanying the unofficial start of summer.

The national average gas price on Memorial Day sat at $2.32 per gallon, the lowest Memorial Day average since 2005, according to AAA. Florida's average price of $2.25 per gallon sat slightly below the national number.

Miami-area gas prices are just under 38 cents per gallon lower than they were one year ago, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Prices at the pump rose 2 cents a gallon over the past week, averaging $2.36.

These low prices could be a precursor to the lowest summer gas prices in over a decade, according to both AAA and GasBuddy.com.

"Every single state in the nation is seeing lower gasoline and diesel prices than where we started summer last year," GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan wrote in his weekly fuel update. "Going forward, much of the country will spend much of the summer in the twos for both gasoline and diesel."

AAA also expects a less expensive summer for Americans at the pump, with prices expected to peak in mid-June if they continue to follow last year's pattern.

"Unless oil prices suddenly surge, motorists should find the lowest summer gas prices since 2005," AAA noted in its gas-price briefing.

Last year's average summer gas price was $2.71 per gallon nationwide and $2.58 per gallon in the state of Florida, according to AAA. Average summer gas prices in 2005 were $2.30 per gallon nationwide and $2.32 per gallon in the Sunshine State.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Summer driving season starting with low gas prices."