Thread: Consumers likely to get holiday present; $3.15 a gallon gas by Xmas

Consumers likely to get holiday present; $3.15 a gallon gas by Xmas

Gary Strauss, USA TODAY5:08 p.m. EDT October 21, 2013


(Photo: Scott Barbour, Getty Images)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
With demand slowing, holiday prices will be lowest since 2010

• Crude oil falls below $100 barrel for first time since early July

Gasoline prices are likely to continue sliding for the rest of the year and by Christmas,could fall to $3.15 a gallon, the lowest national holiday season average average since 2010.

Thats about 20 cents a gallon lower than current prices, now averaging $3.36 a gallon.
Crude oil prices fell below $100 a barrel Monday for the first time since July, closing at $99.16. The 1.6% drop came on word of a fresh Energy Information Administration report on higher-than-expected domestic supplies. Separately, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it there could be a drop in energy demand if the global economy weakens.

"With crude falling below $100, this opens the door for the declines to pick up steam,'' says Patrick DeHaan, senior oil analyst for gasbuddy.com

With ample supplies, lower seasonal demand and refineries producing cheaper winter-grade gas and tensions in the Middle East continuing to ebb, motorists now paying about 32 cents a gallon than year-ago levels and likely to find their cheapest holiday gas in three years, says DeHaan.

Gasoline prices averaged $3.23 a gallon in 2012, $3.24 a gallon in 2011 and $3.03 in 2010, DeHaan says.

Bargain hunters in several states are already enjoying sub-$3 gasoline. In Missouri, where gas prices average the nation's lowest at $3.07 a gallon, it's selling as low as $2.66 a gallon at some warehouse club outlet.

AAA spokesman Michael Green notes that sub-$3 a gallon gas is available in about 24 states, and overall, the cheapest gas prices nationwide since January.

"Lower prices are a real tangible benefit for most people, who need to drive to live their lives,'' Green says. "This means more savings for people and more money in their pockets."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...-xmas/3144943/

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