Gas Prices

[kejoda]

The lowest I've seen it is 2.15 here in the Twin Cities!!

 

[minnieandme]

It's $2.29 where I live. I wonder how long this will last before they start raising it again.

 

[gris gris]

It's $2.29 where I live. I wonder how long this will last before they start raising it again.

It will start rising again after everyone goes out and buys the SUV they always wanted!! LOL me included, I really need a bigger car to hold our family, and the gas is the reason why I haven't done it yet.

Unfortunately here in CT we have a gas tax and I think it's around 40 cents so we'll always be a little higher. $2.67 at my station today.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

$2.67 where I filled up on Cape Cod. I wish it would drop even more...but we'll see.

 

[brerrabbit]

Federal gas tax is about $.20 I think .198 and state taxes vary from around $.15 to as much as $.30. Add them up and taxes by state run from $.35 to $.50. As far a gas getting as low as the OP stated ($1.15/gal) remember this, the same people who are making these predictions are the same people who were saying oil was going to $100/bbl in the next two years. These guys all use forecasting models that have to little data behind them to be reliable at all. They take 4 to 5 month trends and try to extrapolate the data from there. Pre hurricane season last year there was not a single model in exsistance that forecast oil at $70/bbl and gas at $3.00. So take very little away from theses forecasters because the reality is they don't know anymore than you do where the price is going. Based on a lot of factors and mostly the introduction of the 10% ethanol blend that is now mandated by the federal government there is a lot of support for gas prices not making it far below the $2.00/gal mark. NYMEX has delisted RUL (regular unleaded fuel) and now lists RBOB (sorry don't know what it stands for) which is the new ethanol blend. Couple that with the fact that because of further federal regulation diesel fuel is still very expensive. New low sulfur standards have greatly increased the price. Some refiners may opt more fuel into diesel than gas thus trimming the supply somewhat. Also remember that a lot of the price decrease you are seeing is the result of the independent operators who own the majority of gas stations in the country and set their own price at the pump giving up some profit margin. One of them blinked and lowered prices to increase sales and everyone else had to follow and therefore we got to see a free market economy drive the price down quite a bit. Finally we are in one of the traditionally slower driving seasons of the year so demand is down significantly and we have had no major storms to disrupte the flow of oil and gas this year. Lastly Chevron just announced a major find in the gulf that could nearly double the estimated oil reserves of the US. All these factors add up to temporarily lower prices but that could change tomorrow with the outbreak of war in the east or a refinery going down in the US. Lets enjoy the price break for as long as it lasts and not make long term decisions based on very short term market trends.

 

[nuke]

I saw a report that has the lowest in the nation in Branson, MO at $1;86 and the highest in Hawaii at over $3.20. In Chicago it's still $2.69. I'm hopeful for under $2.50 at some point.

The same report said they expect oil to be back down to the $32 a barrel prices in the next 5-6 years.

 

[Charade]

And of course, once gas prices drop, people will be less interested in conserving it and finding alternative fuels. Then the cycle repeats unitl we find another huge source of oil that we were supposed to run out of in X years.

 

[Raysplus1]

I paid $2.04 here in Des Moines, IA this morning.

 

[javaj]

Still in the 2.80s range here in Colorado Springs, CO. We usually are about on par with the national average, but not since prices have been going down in the last few weeks....wonder why!

 

[wallyb]

We saw $2.39 in Maine last weekend.
It might be lower now. Seems to be in a drop. For now.
But It'll mysteriously rise next summer -
before people go on driving vacation.