If this trend continues until Tuesday, it will mark a month since gas prices began falling on June 21. According to AAA Auto Club South, gas prices have fallen every day since June 21, with the national average standing somewhere around $2.46 per gallon. Compared to this time last year, when the national average quickly approached $5.00 per gallon, gas has become relatively affordable.
 
The biggest culprit concerning falling gas prices is a lack of demand. Even though we are in the middle of summer, which is peak driving season, demand has only risen about 0.6 percent in the past month. …read more

If you were on the road this time last year, you surely remember the pain you felt each time you went to fill up at the gas station. Crude oil prices skyrocketed last year, reaching an astronomical $145.29 a barrel, but this year, oil prices remain relatively tame at $66.73 a barrel. Slackening demand for oil across the world has seen prices fall by almost $3 recently.
Oil prices have appeared to be on a rollercoaster ride over the past year. From the record-high prices reached last year, oil plummeted to about $34 per barrel in December as the economic crisis …read more

Much has been said about employment and housing with regards to economic recovery . However, as important as these items are, one should not forget consumer spending. While it is good for one’s personal economy to cut back on consumer spending, it does tend to cause problems for the wider economy, since 2/3 of our economy is dependent on the spending that you and I do . Gas prices can impact how much we spend in other areas of our lives, and they can impact general feelings about and confidence in the economy. James Surowiecki points this out in The …read more

Despite the economy slowly and tenuously attempting to rebound from the depths it has reached, OPEC seems to be intent on driving oil prices higher and higher. At $63.45 a barrel, prices are already the highest they have been all year, but OPEC has said that it is considering a price somewhere between $75 and $80 a barrel.
A sharp spike in oil prices has been supported by OPEC but strongly condemned by many economic analysts. OPEC contends that it needs to drive oil prices higher in order to spur energy investments, but analysts tend to agree that a skyward oil …read more

Today, BillShrink added a feature that allows you to figure out where to get the cheapest gas along your chosen route. This tool can be used to help you plot out your refueling stops on vacation, or help you decide the best place to fill up on your way home from work.

Fun Friday is a creative idea we have added to the Business Channel community of bloggers. We will pick a theme, topic, or picture and most of the bloggers will write about it on Friday. This week, our topic is: Gas Prices.
Gas prices are absolutely too high. I actually can close my eyes and remember paying 78 cents per gallon back in 2001. And now we are at $4.00 per gallon at some gas stations in Maryland. Last night, I was working late and I stopped to put gas in my tank and actually drove away from that station when …read more