WASHINGTON — The federal government forecasts that low oil prices will continue through the year as a result of the global petroleum glut.

Oil prices have plummeted by more than half since a high of $106 a barrel in June, giving motorists the gift of cheap gasoline while wreaking havoc on energy markets and states that rely on oil tax revenue. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast Tuesday that the situation is going to continue as producers in America and around the world keep pumping more oil despite the glut.

U.S. benchmark crude prices have plummeted to $45 a barrel. Federal forecasters expect little recovery, estimating an average $55 a barrel price this year.

The agency said Tuesday that it “expects global oil inventories to continue to build in 2015, keeping downward pressure on oil prices.”

The price forecast, released as part of the agency’s short-term energy report, expects a rise to an average of $71 a barrel in 2016 as drilling growth eventually slows in response to the low oil prices, especially in America, and petroleum demand increases in China and the United States. That’s still far lower than in the past few years, though, when prices around $100 a barrel started to seem normal.