MISHAWAKA — Experts predict gas prices will fall as Memorial Day approaches, instead of rising just as summer vacations begin.

Those experts had expected a national average of more than $3 per gallon by Memorial Day. Now they say prices have likely peaked at just below that price.

“By Memorial Day we may even see prices start to go down, and there is a potential that after Memorial Day the prices could fall pretty dramatically,” said oil analyst Phil Flynn with PFGBest in Chicago.

Motorists can thank rising supplies and concerns about the global economy that have helped send wholesale gasoline prices plummeting. It will take several weeks for the full effect to hit the pumps.

The news came as a surprise to many drivers who are used to seeing prices jump before the holiday weekend. Other drivers thought the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would drive prices higher, too.

Flynn said the spill will have little, if any, impact at all.

“The truth of the matter is that the oil you’re seeing coming up from the floor of the ocean wasn’t oil the market was counting on. In fact, the market didn’t even know that oil existed,” he said, explaining that the oil was only recently discovered and didn’t figure into the equation that goes into summer gas prices.

Almost two years ago the retail price of regular gasoline peaked at $4.11.

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