There may be some good news in store for drivers in 2023.

Projections by tracking site gasbuddy.com shows that the yearly national average price of gas in 2023 is forecast to drop nearly 50 cents per gallon from that of 2022 to $3.49. The lower prices will be driven by continuing improvement in refinery capacity though high levels of uncertainty remain amid Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and continuing concerns over the economy.

“2023 is not going to be a cakewalk for motorists. It could be expensive,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The national average could breach $4 per gallon as early as May – and that’s something that could last through much of the summer driving season. Basically, curveballs are coming from every direction. Extreme amounts of volatility remain possible but should become slightly more muted in the year ahead. I don’t think we’ve ever seen such an amount of volatility as we saw this year, and that will be a trend that likely continues to lead to wider uncertainty over fuel prices going into 2023.”

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Nationwide, the average price of gasoline in January is expected to be $3.04 a gallon, dropping to just below $3 in February. It will start climbing again in March as it reaches its highest price levels in June with an estimated peak of up to $4.19 per gallon.

Prices will start to drop as the year progresses, averaging about $3.17 per gallon by the end of 2023.

2022′s average price per gallon was $3.96, up from $3.02 in 2021 and $2.17 in 2020.

Average prices in Alabama

Currently, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Alabama is $2.95, down from $3.06 a month ago and $2.99 a year ago, according to tracking by AAA. The highest price ever recorded in Alabama – $4.63 – was on June 14, 2022.