AAA sees US average gasoline price dipping to around $2.70

Steady oil prices and the end of strong summer demand should start pushing gasoline prices down.

The auto club AAA predicts that the national average will drop 14 cents to $2.70 a gallon this fall.

The current average of $2.84 is up 46 cents from a year ago, but down from the peak national average of $2.96 a gallon in May. AAA says motorists in the West and in Pennsylvania and Connecticut pay even more — over $3.

Relief could be coming. Benchmark U.S. crude is around $69 a barrel — that's up sharply from a year ago but down $5 a barrel since early July.

Also, refineries are expected to switch in mid-September to winter-blend gasolines, which are cheaper to produce than summer blends.