Average gasoline prices slip to $3.85/gal: survey

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. average retail gasoline prices fell over the past two weeks and could ease further in coming weeks if the price of crude oil keeps dropping, according to the latest nationwide Lundberg survey.

The national average price for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline was $3.8472 a gallon on August 8, a decline of almost 15 cents in the past two weeks, according to a survey of about 5,000 gas stations.

The decline is entirely due to lower crude oil prices, which have fallen $10 in the last week alone and are down about $30 from an all-time high of above $147 a barrel a month ago.

At just under $3.50 a gallon, Tulsa, Oklahoma had the lowest average price for self-serve regular unleaded gas, while the highest price was $4.37 a gallon in Anchorage, Alaska, closely followed by $4.36 a gallon in Honolulu, Hawaii, the survey showed.

"The only region of the country where regular grade averages above $4 a gallon is the Western region of the country," survey editor Trilby Lundberg said in an interview.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1029265020080810

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[AllentownJake]

1. Well that will change Monday

Georgia has a pipeline and the speculators will be out in force.

[Andy823]

3. Congress needs to act now!

They need to push the bill on regulating the speculators, and not let anything stop them! Keep it coming to a vote till it does pass, period!

I still think one of the main reasons oil prices have dropped is that the speculators are trying to ease the fear of congress that "they" are one of the major reasons for the high prices. They can let the prices drop, and if congress doesn't keep on putting the bill up on regulating them, they will come back later this year, or next, and start it all up again. This is not the time for congress to back down the this bill!

[AllentownJake]

5. It dropped for the same reasons the tech stock market fell in the late 90s

These speculating types bid something to a point where it can't be pushed higher and than they buy short contracts and start selling. They make contracts on the way up and on the way down.

They bid oil to a point where the demand curve started to make people buy less oil than they shorted the oil contracts.

The only difference with stocks is they have to only put 5% capital on their bets not 50% capital so they can make higher bets.

Some of them are going to lose on the short selling which is nice but they'll make it up bidding it up to where it was before or more over the crisis in Georgia.

[Andy823]

7. I agree with you.

But putting stiffer regulations on them will help. They don't want any regulations, they want to keep on playing with the markets so they can make millions, if not billions by manipulating the prices. The republicans have let them do this, and the democrats can stop it, if not this year, then next year when things change in congress in favor of the democrats having a real majority. I just hope congress has enough backbone to do it!

[AllentownJake]

8. The only regulation you need

is to ban buying stocks and commodity contracts on margin. If you have to finance your own bet your less likely to risk these type of activities.

Hopefully we get a congerss with a backbone and they at least increase margin requirements.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. For a day, maybe 2.

But the flow of oil has not been stopped. They are gonna try, but by Thursday, the prices will be below where they were at close of market on Friday past.

[amandabeech]

15. It could be a very bumpy week. n/t

[ellaydubya]

2. Raise it really high, then.......

drop it a bit- makes all of us so happy that the price has dropped. Yet it is definitely much higher ($1.46) than when Bush took office. What fools we are- they are playing with us, don't you see???? And now we have that warm, comfortable feeling right before the elections!?!?!?!? AND let's not forget about the oil companies huge profits during this time!?!?!?!

Oh, yeah, one more thing- that Georgia/ Russia to-do was all about the oil and gas, and we are right in the middle of it!

Ain't it grand!?!?!? :grr: :kick:

[Andy823]

6. Yes, but Obama

Can change that, along with congress. Obama becomes president, the democrats take full control of congress, and if they aren't in the pockets of big oil, things can change! Big oil knows this, and so do the speculators. Keep pushing the bill to regulate speculators, and go after big oil profits in some form, and things can change. They will never get back to what they were, but they can be a lot better than what we have now.

[humbled_opinion]

11. HUH?

Can you explain to me how a Democratic President and a fully Democratically congrolled fillabuster proof Congress is going to lower the price at the pump?

If the Democratic leadership is about to nationalize the oil industry then I am inclined to belive that the price will go down... but I have heard nothing of the sort.....

Common sense... Oil is a commodity controlled by companies that are in the business to make a profit. They care nothing about the consumer and the more you tax them fine them and force regulations on them the more the price is going to go UP, UP, UP, not down.

Gasoline is used in 99 percent of all vehicles in this country (150 million) there is no alternative to that source of fuel and even if you miraculously develop a vehicle that uses (WATER) or renewable energy for its source the production and implementation of that thing to replace the 150 million gas vehicles on the road is going to take more than 50 years and thats if we can get the govt to subsidize the cost for those of us that will never be able to afford that technology... because once the fuel is free the cost of the car is gonna be through the roof.

So consumers get raped repeatedly from all sides on this issue.

[onehandle]

9. And goods and services costs affected by high gas prices will not slip at All.

Bush will leave us all much poorer.

[Hawkeye-X]

10. Just paid $3.75 for mine

And there's a gas station on the opposite side of the town that's $3.72

[RayOfHope]

12. Its 3.36 here. I'm interested to see what tomorrow will bring n/t

[Catshrink]

13. I paid $3.67 at Costco today

in the Phoenix area.

[ChazII]

21. Paid the same

at the Circle K on Tatum and Union Hills in Phx.

[rainbow4321]

14. Down to $3.58 north of Dallas n/t

[madrchsod]

16. 3.60 in the hometown of st ronald

[Hulk]

17. I hope the oil companies are still able to make a profit?

...and all the American morons are happy, "gas prices are DOWN to $3.85....yeah, rejoice, rejoice!!"

This is how it works. Jack the price up as high as you possibly can, then drop it 5% and they all stop bitching and go back to work and play. We are a nation of morons. I remember when it $2.65....less than a year ago.

Such a shameful trick on the sheeple.

[Hawaii Hiker]

18. Big deal, gas is down to a slightly insane level from a morbidly insane level

If/when gas falls below $2.25/gallon, then I'll say :woohoo:

until then, :banghead:

[radfringe]

24. gas at pump not going down at same rate as it went up

when it was $147 barrel - pump prices hovered around $4/gal in my area

at $117 a barrel pump prices should be around $3.17/gal - as of sunday the cheapest I saw was $3.67

[bluedeminredstate]

19. In Richmond

It's somewhere between $3.53 & $3.60 depending where you fill up. My husband's diesel VW gets great mileage but he was paying close to five bucks/gal during the winter. Now diesel is just slightly higher than regular gas at about $3.65.

[CRF450]

20. Same here on the eastern side of North Carolina

Gas is $3.53 at a Walmart gas station. Its usually the station with the lowest gas prices in the area, I topped off my truck their today. Total price, almost 65 bucks, compared to near 80 dollars with 18.4 gallons almost a couple months ago. 50 cents makes a huge difference when you gotta 20 gallon gas tank.

[NickB79]

22. Gas prices are finally starting to fall, and all it cost us was the global economy

Demand destruction hard at work, driving us into a recession :puke:

[Javaman]

23. Well, damn, since it dropped a WHOLE 15 cents I think I'm gonna plan that cross country trip

after all!!!

:banghead: (the sarcasm tag just doesn't do it for me anymore)

[Merlot]

25. Just don't drive to Southern California

It's around $4.40 this week, that's a little lower than last week at 4.44, though I have seen some pumps with 4.56.

It will be a while before I plan my next trip...

[mbperrin]

26. Wheee! Nearly free free free!

Oh, wait, that's still double two years ago....