U.S. gasoline prices post biggest fall in nearly 4 years: survey

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: Reuters, NewsDaily

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2012 (Reuters) — The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline took its biggest drop since 2008 in the past two weeks, due to lower crude oil prices, a big price drop in pump prices in California and Hurricane Sandy, according to a widely followed survey released on Sunday.

Gasoline prices averaged $3.5454 per gallon on November 2, down 20.75 cents from October 19 when drivers were paying $3.7529 at the pump, Lundberg said.

The decline was the biggest two-week price drop since the survey recorded a 21.9 cents price decline December 5, 2008 due to a crash in petroleum demand during the global recession.

Read more: http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre8a30n0-us-energy-gasoline-retail/

[winstars]

1. Its that Obama's fault I tells ya!!!! n/t

[Fearless]

2. Well the companies need somewhere for it to rise to when Obama wins...

That is how it works, sadly.

[NickB79]

3. Gas is $3.15 here in the Twin Cities, MN

I've seen it as low as $3.10/gal in the past few days.

What I want to know is, what's driving the drop in global oil prices? The last time oil prices collapsed, it was due to a drop in demand due to the Great Recession.

If global demand for oil is falling this rapidly, it might signify that economies like China are drastically cutting back demand due to slowing economy. If that's the case, we might be looking at a double-dip recession

[Up2Late]

7. Don't worry, it's probably caused by a major Oil/gasoline speculator cashing out

i.e., selling off big time in a profit taking move which probably caused a small domino effect.

Could be the speculation bubble is about to pop though, which would be a good thing in my opinion, Most "experts" will say I'm crazy, but I think the real cost of a gallon of Gas in the US should be closer to $2.25-2.50 per gallon.

[icarusxat]

15. saw this same trend when big oil gave up on McCain

just wait until the world finds out that oil is a renewable resource...

[NickB79]

19. "Oil is a renewable resource"

What scientific journals did you read to come to that conclusion? The only people left still pushing the abiotic oil line are a few crackpot Russian scientists.

And when McCain was running for election, that was when global demand for oil was crashing in the face of the Great Recession. So, if this is the same trend you saw before, then it re-affirms my fear we're looking at another recession in the near future.

[icarusxat]

24. yet it worried you

or the folks you work for, enough to evoke a reply...

[AlecBGreen]

25. so no proof?

extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

[NickB79]

26. It caused derisive laughter, not worry

Hence the

And "the folks I work for"? I don't think the dairy industry is in bed with the oil industry, last I checked.

[NickB79]

18. If gas prices fall that low, kiss the US oil boom goodbye

All those millions of extra barrels of fracked and tar sands oil flowing from North Dakota, and also from our neighbors up north in Alberta, Canada? They require oil to be $60-$75/barrel to make a profit. If oil drops another $10-$15/barrel, you'll see wells shutting down.

We've been told about the "speculation bubble" for the better part of a decade as an explanation to oil's high price. However, in that time the ONLY time we've seen a major drop in the price was when the global economy cratered. In the meantime, we're now burning more oil than at any time in history, while global production has been essentially flat for years.

[fingrinn]

4. BEFORE ANY TROLLS

Chime in and and try to say Obamas lowering the price for the election, here in New Zealand its dropping like a stone as well.
Unless of course they want to argue he waved his magic wand here as well.

[FailureToCommunicate]

11. Thank you!

A voice of reason from the other side of the world. Belated WELCOME to DU and good luck parenting. As a child raised by a "disabled" parent, I can only encourage you to struggle on. It's worth every difficult day.

[fingrinn]

21. Thank you

for that , it means a lot to me.

[Aristus]

27. Welcome to DU, fingrinn!

Say hello to our fellow progressives down in NZ for us. Maybe someday, your country is what we will be like (God willing...)

[Turbineguy]

5. I guess that means

that Romney wants to lose the election.

[Up2Late]

6. Yeah, I noticed that tonight, the QT was down to $3.22 for Regular grade here in the Atlanta Metro

I think it was about $3.45 last week.

Btw, did you know that we (the U.S.A.) are exporting about DOUBLE the Petroleum and Petroleum Products that we were exporting in about December 2008?

When we gonna talk about that? After the election, I guess.

[gadjitfreek]

8. Not up here in NY...

...Post-Sandy, my local gas station was at $3.99 yesterday, but at least they had gas. Once the gas begins to flow more freely up here the price should drop. There is no reason that gas should have been $4 a gallon. The last time gas was $4 a gallon the price of crude was nearly $150 per barrel. This time it hovered around $90 per barrel. It's just profit-taking, pure and simple.

[Ford_Prefect]

9. The word you may be looking for is Profiteering

Profiteer

prof·i·teer
noun \ˌprä-fə-ˈtir\
Definition of PROFITEER
: one who makes what is considered an unreasonable profit especially on the sale of essential goods during times of emergency
— profiteer intransitive verb

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profiteering?show=0&t=1352116984

After all greed is greed. Excessive greed (ie: profiteering) is merely the public expression of an antisocial and highly addictive disease.

[alarimer]

10. Wait. Don't storms usually RAISE prices?

Due to supply problems.

[Kelvin Mace]

12. Kind of deflates all those conpiracy theories I've

Heard over last two months of oil companies jacking up prices to help Romney.

[pampango]

13. No. It just means that oil companies are playing multi-dimensional chess that you and I can't

grasp. Not to worry. Smarter folks will be along to soon to explain the extra dimensions.

[KurtNYC]

14. or this means it is over

no more need to keep gasoline high

Also the forecast for winter has been revised from colder than average to above average.

[judesedit]

16. The speculators didn't get drunk and show off this week I guess. Must be in rehab.

[maxsolomon]

17. Down to $3.999/gallon in Seattle!

Its a holiday miracle.

[RebelOne]

20. Not falling fast enough.

Gas here at the QT station is $3.32. It cost me over $40 to fill my tank and that is still too much.

[fingrinn]

22. you really should not complain

Here we pay up to $2.21 per liter
or in US terms $9.72 per gallon

[Mad-in-Mo]

23. Down to $3.09 earlier in the week

then jumped nearly 10 cents over night. Any idea why the jump?