Gas sinks to 3-year low

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Dumpy

Dumpy

Yi-ha!!
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gas prices fell for the 42nd-straight day Wednesday, according to a nationwide survey of credit card swipes at gasoline stations.

The average price of unleaded regular gas dropped 4 cents to $2.589 a gallon, according to the survey released by motorist group AAA.

Gas has fallen every day since Sept. 17, a few days after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike battered the Gulf coast. The last time gas was this low was Aug. 18, 2005.

Prices are now down 37.1%, or $1.485, from the record high price of $4.114 a gallon set on July 17. The average price dropped below $3 a gallon on Oct. 18 for the first time in nearly nine months.

Even with falling prices, demand for gas continues to drop. Americans are driving 5.6% less than last year, according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report. And a weekly MasterCard survey of gas purchases showed motorists consumed 6.4% less gas in the past week compared to a year ago.

Retail gas prices have benefited from lower oil prices. Crude has been in a sharp decline since mid-July amid weakening demand; losing more than half of its value since it reached a record of near $150 just two months ago.

Three states reported gas prices above $3 a gallon in the AAA survey: Alaska, Hawaii and California. But 18 states had gas price averages under $2.50 a gallon.

Alaska continues to be the state with the most expensive gas prices, at $3.622 a gallon. The cheapest gas can be found in Oklahoma, where gas cost just $2.20 a gallon, according to AAA's Web site.
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http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/29/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes
 
A week before the election - shocking.
 
It more than makes up for the stock market losing a quarter of its value, don't you think?
 
Still way overpriced. The day after the price of a barrell of oil goes up on the market the price of a gallon of gas goes up at the pump. The minute it goes down it takes forever to go back. Assholes.

I love how Alaska has the highest price for gas and Palin is the "energy expert". :biglaugh:
 
Netted said:
Still way overpriced. The day after the price of a barrell of oil goes up on the market the price of a gallon of gas goes up at the pump. The minute it goes down it takes forever to go back. Assholes.

I love how Alaska has the highest price for gas and Palin is the "energy expert". :biglaugh:
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isn't some of that due to a "lag factor" of when a particular station gets its supply? I often see no movement at my local station for a week, and then all at once it has gone down ten cents.
 
Those that have benefited from the inflated gas prices and other war related profiteering are on their way out. So expect it to go down some more.
 
Dumpy said:
isn't some of that due to a "lag factor" of when a particular station gets its supply? I often see no movement at my local station for a week, and then all at once it has gone down ten cents.
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yes, there is a "lag" for it to go down... but they raise it the minute the price of a barrel of oil goes up. And they make all kinds of excuses as to why they need to raise it so fast, but no one says anything about why it takes so long to go down. I heard that in England the government actually called out the companies for this practice and the price came down more.
 
I could remember when I used to put $.50, $1 and $2 worth of gas.

I also remember running out of gas several times.
 
BrooklynBound said:
If you really think Republicans can influence gas prices in the short-term... well, I have nothing witty. You're just absolutely wrong.
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Once again you misconstrue a post and are needlessly confrontational.

You ever have a friendly conversation with anyone? I haven't seen it.
 
ghoti said:
Once again you misconstrue a post and are needlessly confrontational.

You ever have a friendly conversation with anyone? I haven't seen it.
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If you were joking, I apologize. If not, I stand by my post.
 
BrooklynBound said:
If you were joking, I apologize. If not, I stand by my post.
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I was kind of half-joking.

I don't think lower gas prices really benefit either party or influence the election.

I do think the government has a good amount of control over the prices at the pump and manipulate them to serve various agendas. That's not really radical thinking.
 
ghoti said:
I was kind of half-joking.

I don't think lower gas prices really benefit either party or influence the election.

I do think the government has a good amount of control over the prices at the pump and manipulate them to serve various agendas. That's not really radical thinking.
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What do you think they can do?
 
BrooklynBound said:
What do you think they can do?
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I really am not an expert. It was an off-hand comment.

The government has some control over regulations on industry, the value of the dollar, the workings of the commodities market, and many other factors that I assume can effect the price of oil - at least for a short period of time.

I think they have a reserve, which to my knowledge they have not used. That would directly control the price of gas at the consumer level.

That vague analysis is as deep as I can go. (But just like everything else when it comes to our government, even the most educated citizen doesn't have all the information.)

I'm still not surprised that gas prices have gone down as the election has gotten closer.
 
They will always go down after September for a variety of reasons. First, when a futures market for gasoline was developed, the price would go up and down based on the fear of short-term disruption due to a hurricane in the gulf. Once hurricane season is over, that fear dissipates (until next year). Second, demand goes down after Labor day. Third, during the summer, gasoline as some more additive added that is either expensive by itself or expensive to formulate. The new formulation cuts down on the amount of fuel that evaporates in the heat. There may be other additives that states require to cut down on smog; I'm not sure.

So next June the price will rise again.

Anyway, that's as far as I know.
 
ghoti said:
I really am not an expert. It was an off-hand comment.

The government has some control over regulations on industry, the value of the dollar, the workings of the commodities market, and many other factors that I assume can effect the price of oil - at least for a short period of time.

I think they have a reserve, which to my knowledge they have not used. That would directly control the price of gas at the consumer level.

That vague analysis is as deep as I can go. (But just like everything else when it comes to our government, even the most educated citizen doesn't have all the information.)

I'm still not surprised that gas prices have gone down as the election has gotten closer.
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If you're going to say the government manipulates gas prices, you should show how.

Regulations have increased the cost of gas. Mandates of ethanol and winter/summer hybrids in our gasoline restricts the supply in certain areas and causes the price to increase.

As for the value of the dollar, the US has been pursuing policies (such as low interest rates and pumping more dollars in the economy) that devalue the dollar. Since oil is priced in dollars, the same barrel of oil will cost more in dollars.

Workings of the commodity market? What does that mean? Oil is traded globally.

The only way the government can reduce gas prices in the short-term is by reducing gas taxes. We know that isn't happening.
 
Dumpy said:
They will always go down after September for a variety of reasons. First, when a futures market for gasoline was developed, the price would go up and down based on the fear of short-term disruption due to a hurricane in the gulf. Once hurricane season is over, that fear dissipates (until next year). Second, demand goes down after Labor day. Third, during the summer, gasoline as some more additive added that is either expensive by itself or expensive to formulate. The new formulation cuts down on the amount of fuel that evaporates in the heat. There may be other additives that states require to cut down on smog; I'm not sure.

So next June the price will rise again.

Anyway, that's as far as I know.
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It makes me feel better when I can blame gas prices on the Boogey Man. I can't wait until hurricane season starts so I can blame "price gougers" again.
 
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