In the coming week, gas prices are predicted to drop a few cents — defying predictions that regular gas would reach $3 or more in coming days on the Treasure Coast, said AAA Auto Club South public relations manager Jessica Brady. This week, prices have been around $2.96 to $2.99 a gallon, but crude oil is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of about 210,000 gallons a day. However, Brady said the nation has a surplus of crude oil in storage and refineries have excess capacity to handle increased demand for the immediate future. So, the oil well leak won’t be adding to Treasure Coast gasoline prices, she said. Last week, regular was expected to go to $3 a gallon or higher for regular gasoline in the coming week. That’s because the cost of a barrel of crude oil increased to $86 a barrel. This week, however, the price unexpectedly dropped to around $78 a barrel due to a strengthening of the dollar against other international currencies, she said. That came in the wake of improved economic news: increased manufacturing and housing sales. Now, the Treasure Coast is not expected to reach $3 a gallon until sometime in the summer after Labor Day. “That ($3 a gallon) will be short-lived,” she said. The last time gas hit $3 a gallon was around Oct. 13, 2008, she said. At that time, gas averaged $3.21 a gallon. Then from May 26 to July 28, 2008, gas averaged $4 per gallon.

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