WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. summer retail gasoline prices are expected to peak this July at a monthly average of near $2.70 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday in its latest monthly energy forecast.

Pump price are moving higher, in part, because of rising crude oil costs. The EIA said it expects the price for U.S. oil to average $67 a barrel during the second half of this year, about $16 higher than during the first six months of 2009.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett)