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Page added on September 18, 2014
Return of the $3 Gallon?
Here is the price of gasoline in the U.S. so far this year:
Gasoline prices in 2014
The national average price of regular unleaded, now at $3.38 a gallon, is down 8 percent from the end of June. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at GasBuddy.com, thinks this year will bring the cheapest autumn gasoline prices since 2010. Last year drivers spent $40 billion at the pump in September, and Kloza thinks that bill will be at least $2 billion lower in 2014. The savings at the pump should help stimulate consumer spending in other parts of the economy.
Gas prices are cheapest in the South and highest in the Northwest. Shale oil being produced in North Dakota and Texas has had an easier time traveling south and east, while fewer trains have headed west, across the Rockies and into Washington and Oregon (though that is starting to change). Still, it’s a big difference. The average gasoline price outside Little Rock, Ark., is $3.05; near Seattle, it’s $3.87.
GasBuddy.comHeat map of gasoline prices
This all starts with the price of oil, which makes up 66 percent of the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline. International crude prices have fallen 16 percent since the end of June, and U.S. prices have dropped more than 11 percent. Different parts of the country use different sources of oil to make gasoline. Most imported blends of light, sweet crude no longer come into the U.S. Gulf Coast, by far the biggest refinery base in the U.S.
Refiners are also getting ready to switch to the winter blend of gasoline, which is cheaper to produce but fetches lower prices. Over the last three years, the price of gasoline from September to November has fallen by an average of more than 30¢ a gallon. If that trend continues in 2014, it could put prices in some parts of the country below $3.
Unexpected events could always shake the oil marked. With the U.S. and its allies planning to step up attacks on ISIS this fall, oil prices could certainly spike by the end of the year. As long as U.S. production keeps rising, however, it should help keep prices in check.
8 Comments on "Return of the $3 Gallon?"
Davy on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 7:32 am
“HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN” I think I am going to cry I am so happy!
Makati1 on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 7:55 am
Just checked. Yep! Gasoline is still about $5 per gallon here in the Philippines. no real change in 6 years. Glad I don’t have top watch gas prices anymore.
I remember filling my 20 gallon gas tank in the 60s and getting change from a $10 bill. $0.31/gal. @ $1.25 min.wage or about 4 gallons for an hours work. That means that the minimum wage should be about $14.00 all things being equal. Or gas should be ~$1.80 per gallon. $3 is no bargain.
Mark on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 9:07 am
Time to buy that Hummer that I’ve always wanted!
This is likely to be a short lived phenomena, as cheap conventional oil production is steadily declining in the back ground. It’s largely because of the worlds economies hitting a brick wall, even Asian growth is slowing.
GregT on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 10:16 am
$1.39 per litre at the pumps just down the road from me today. 10 cents a litre less than the record high reached in 2008, but still double the price of .69 cents per litre in 2002.
Kenz300 on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 11:35 am
Walk, ride a bicycle or take mass transit and then you do not worry about the price of gas.
adamx on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 4:08 pm
Kenz300,
Yes and no. That price of gas also means the cost of bus fares goes up, or routes get closed down. Walking or riding a bike are nice but unfortunately not practical for many, many people. My last job, I depended on the bus to get to work, and saw $60 a month go into passes. Luckily it was with one of the best bus systems in the US, yet I still used my bike to get groceries because the bus was not very practical.
Even taking the bus on off days was a mixed bag. It took an hour for me to get to the gym I went to – if I had had a car, it would have been 15 minutes. I rode my bike as much as practical.
I moved due to the cost of living, and now I’m out in the sticks (for the time being). I need a car to get anywhere. I considered moving to the nearest big city, and may eventually anyways, but the cost of rent to live IN the city is very high, and they’ve been cutting their bus service. Everyone drives. It’s literally insane. A biker died recently due to a bad intersection, they fixed it now but before that death there were something like 17 serious bike-car accidents at the same spot – they did nothing in the meantime, it took them a while to fix it, and someone died.
Cars suck, but in the US many people don’t have an easy choice. It’s possible to get rid of the car in some places, but not everywhere.
Hugh Culliton on Thu, 18th Sep 2014 4:53 pm
Adamx: So true, and it’s not just the US. My neighbour across the street teaches at the same Ontario high school as me. I asked her if she wanted to car pool and she looked at me as if I had several heads. Peak oil’s going to have to bite in a lot more before people change their ways. Kunstler says that things just keep going – until they can’t. How true.
Kenz300 on Sat, 20th Sep 2014 10:46 am
Walking, riding a bicycle or taking mass transit is still usually cheaper than owning a car for short distance travel.
Cities once had trolleys that ran thru the center of town and provided low cost and convenient transportation. Trolleys are now making a come back in many cities as well as more walking and bicycle paths.
For longer distances where mass transit is not available a car or motor cycle might be the best option, but even then there are many fuel efficient and alternative energy choices.
E-Bike Sales Are Surging in Europe – NYTimes.com
The Truth Behind Big Oil Attacking Ethanol – YouTube