Gas prices continue to decline

Following a week in which crude oil closed near its highest price of 2009, crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed the week Friday falling by $6 per barrel to $66.01 per barrel in response to a mixed bag of economic news. 

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index improved from August to September, but at the end of last week broad economic indicators such as the Dow Jones Index, Standard & Poors 500 index and the Nasdaq all declined immediately following a Commerce Department report on durable goods orders.  These are products that are expected to last at least three years, like refrigerators or washers and dryers, and they’re considered a bellwether on consumer purchasing and the economy. 

“People may wonder how durable goods are connected to oil and gasoline, and that’s a logical question to ask,” said Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations, AAA Auto Club South. “Durable goods orders reflect economic momentum.  When orders are flat, lack of demand is often reflected in declining diesel and other fuel prices. When orders exceed expectations, that implies an increase for oil, diesel and gasoline, and the prices of these commodities generally reflect any demand increases very quickly.” 

“Investors can sometimes over-react to pieces of positive or negative news and oil markets are hypersensitive to that,” Laskoski added. “Where gasoline prices are concerned, we’re seeing the typical seasonal decline that is customary heading into October.”

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is $2.50 per gallon, down 5 cents in the past week. Florida’s average today at $2.44, Georgia’s at $2.31 and Tennessee’s average price of $2.30 are all down by 3 cents, 2 cents, and 3 cents respectively in the past week.

 

CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline

 

                                    Current           Week Ago      Month Ago     Year Ago

National:                     $2.551             $2.573             $2.613             $3.667

Florida:                       $2.440             $2.477             $2.595             $3.727

Georgia:                     $2.313             $2.338             $2.464             $3.947

Tennessee:                 $2.306             $2.335             $2.447             $3.753

 

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report (fuelgaugereport.com) is updated each day and is the most comprehensive; reflecting actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000 stations) of the gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.