Plunging Oil Prices

[MillauFr]

Price of oil dropped from $130 last week to $95 today. Expecting another collapse in prices over the next few weeks. Anyone planning on changing their Summer vacation plans?

 

[Jennasis]

I don't at all pretend to know these things, but shouldn't plummeting oil prices be a good thing? Shouldn't that mean gas prices also plummet?

Also, no. Our plans are what they are.

 

[MillauFr]

shouldn't plummeting oil prices be a good thing?

Depends on whether you are buying or selling.

 

[HeatherC]

Love how when it skyrocketed every gas station immediately raised prices. Yet no drops where I live since it has come down a bit. So frustrating.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Collapse of oil prices will likely be short term. They are due to China's HUGE current Covid lockdown. Once China resumes their normal demand, if the war is still not over, expect the oil prices to spike back to where they were if we haven't made any structural changes before then.

 

[mom2rtk]

Still waiting for the price at the pump to plunge. Hint: So far it hasn't.

 

[hhisc16]

Gas prices will not impact my summer plans, but it may take more out of the budget that mickey will not get.

 

[Moliphino]

I've only seen the price come down at one gas station so far, the rest are still staying high.

 

[peabody58]

Ferengi Rules of Acquisition #28: "Gouge quickly on the way up, gouge slowly on the way down".

 

[Ms.Minnie]

I'm in south Jersey and on Saturday we had to go out and the prices had dropped ten cents per gallon. I haven't been anywhere since that time, so I don't know if they are still down, if they dropped further or if they have gone back up.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Annnnd this is why I shared memes instead of freaking out, I knew it would cost too many fancy people too much money to go on for long.

 

[dvcgirl67]

As someone else mentioned, it's due to China shutting down due to their zero-covid policy. But, I don't think it'll impact plans that people have made one way or another. Around here I'd guess that most people are upper middle class, but that's a really wide range of income....from about 150K to 350K.

Inflation is high enough that it's starting to really bite people....it's already causing lower income folks, really biting the middle class and starting to nip at the heels of those on the "lower end' up upper income. I saw a survey that someone posted on an Early Retirement board that I read. 64% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck...up from 61% in December of 2021. 48% of Americans earning over 100K are living paycheck to paycheck...up from 42% in December of 2021. 23% of those earning at least 100K are struggling to pay their bills and would struggle to handle a $400 emergency. I think a lot of the increase in the percentages is inflation really beginning to kick in.

I know that gas prices are psychological in nature, but what is a lot more real to people is the balance in their checking accounts at the end of the month. Housing is expensive, prohibitively expensive for some, whether it's renting or buying. And when your electric bill has gone from $300 to $500, natural gas from $150 to $250, grocery bill from $600 to $800....on and on....a lot more Americans are running out of money by the end of the month. Tough choices are having to be made, and one of the easier choices is between a trip to see the Main Mouse or maybe a staycation with a few day trips.

 

[MIGrandma]

The price of gas went down here. A WHOLE PENNY!

 

[tvguy]

Covid, not gasoline prices will be the determining factor in our vacation plans. If we use my wife's Hybrid for our 1,000 mile round trip to Southern California, the $1 a gallon hike in gas prices from our last trip in December will only add $20 to the cost of the trip. If we use my SUV, it will add $40, neither enough to change our plans

 

[goofyernmost]

The same reason why prices go up quickly is the reaction of having to charge what it will cost to refill their tanks. In the other direction the expensive gas that they currently have in the tanks has to be sold down or the vendor will lose a lot of money. They cannot afford to sell $4 gal. gas for $3 so they sell down and then buy to refill at a lower price and unless it goes backup while they do that, the price will drop with the next load. Remember most of the gas station owners do not have the financial reserve the big oil companies have.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Still waiting for the price at the pump to plunge. Hint: So far it hasn't.

I doubt it will. It may drop a bit, but not enough to match the drop in cost. Plus, it's time to switch to summer blend (usually higher price for that).

 

[mylilnikita]

It’s the old go up like a rocket and come down like a feather.