Think the days of $1 gas over gone forever? Think again!
As you know, gasoline is the cheapest it has been in several years, but there's even better news to report on this Christmas morning: They will likely go EVEN LOWER!!Check out this link to CNN's Money page and notice that gasoline futures for unleaded gasoline to be sold in January have fallen to $0.79 per gallon: http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/
As an avid follower of politics, the economy and such, I am naturally inclined to follow oil/gasoline prices as well. I've been tracking them for the past few months as prices get lower and lower. As of Christmas Eve, oil prices stood at just $35/barrel. That's approximately the price oil fell to following the terrrorist attacks of 9/11 that grounded jetliners and caused gas prices to plummet. Fortunately, it's not terror attacks causing gasoline prices to fall this time--but a decrease in demand partly because of the weak economy and, in my opinion anyway, partly because Americans finally got fed up with $4 gas and started fighting back by driving less.
The real question now is will gas prices stay down or will they go right back to $4/gallon next summer? I don't think anyone knows for sure, but I think the real answer is "it depends." It depends on whether Americans forget how expensive prices got and naively start buying SUVs in droves again. I also think it depends on if American car companies hear the call for more fuel efficient cars. With bankruptcy looming, I would think by now they hear the message loud and clear. If they do, Americans will buy more efficient cars which, in theory, should keep demand for gas in check even if we start driving more. And finally, it also depends on if the economy recovers sooner rather than later. It seems logical that lower gas prices are just what the doctor ordered for our economy and will hopefully help pull it out of the recession. While that's a good thing, it would also cause gas prices to go back up as people start driving more due to having more money to spend.
So how long will the cheap gas prices last? Personally, I'm not getting too used to it. In fact, since it now cost about $25 less to fill up my truck, I've started putting $25 in my savings account every time I fill up. This has not only beefed up my savings account a little bit, but also opened my eyes to just how much money I was literally burning in my gas tank. It will also better prepare me for when gas prices do go back up, because we all know it's not a matter of if, but of when and how much. What are you doing with the extra moo-lah? How long do you think the cheap gas will last?
Tell us what you think!
In the meantime, Happy Driving and Merry Christmas!!
Posted by
on 12/25 at 08:31 AM
