Back in July, when the price of gasoline was well over $4 per gallon and the price of oil was nearly $150 per barrel, I said on this site that I believed the price of gasoline would never again fall below and oil would never fall below $120. Turns out I was wrong.
Obviously, I received a lot of heat from plenty of readers, telling me my predictions were completely off base and foolish. While the predictions in fact turned out to be wrong, I guess I can take solace in the fact that I certainly was not the only person to make such predictions.
Now that gasoline prices have fallen significantly, I thought it would be a good time to put many of you to the test. So, for the past week, I’ve had a poll up on this site so that you all might have the chance let me know where you think prices are headed.
When asked “Have gasoline prices bottomed based on a national average price at $1.65 per gallon?” here’s how over 150 Daily Fuel Economy Tip readers responded:
- 46% said yes, gas prices have bottomed.
- 39% said no, gas prices have not bottomed
- 15% said they are unsure where gas prices are headed
Not surprisingly, much as it was back in July, there’s really not much of a general consensus as to where the price of will bottom out.
Since putting up the poll, the price of gasoline climbed slightly from $1.65 to just under $1.69, and has now fallen back to $1.65. Currently, every state but Alaska ($2.36) and Hawaii ($2.28) are reporting average prices below $2 per gallon, wih Montana reporting the lowest price at $1.41 per gallon.
With the price of oil up nearly 30% over the last two weeks, it seems to me that if the price of gasoline goes lower, it won’t be by much. But, I’ve been wrong before…
The cost of oil and gasoline collapsed because the economy collapsed.
This is not a case for joy.
Hopefully, economic activity will accelerate once more, at which time we can expect prices for oil and gasoline to increase apace.
We need to use this time to build an electric economy – a zero-carbon economy – that does not depend upon the burning of fossil fuels for power.
Renewables: wind, solar and bio must be our future, as coal, oil and natural gas are assuredly our past.
I believe gas will go higher. OPEC will reduce production short term but commodity prices will rebound. We have to import lots of oil. We reached and passed our domestic production peak in 1973. The Alaska pipeline saved us some agony for a while but that is dried up and we don’t have alternatives. We will allow oil companies to tear up offshore but that will take years and make them some short term profits but do noting for the energy crisis. Countries without their own oil paid more than $6 per gallon for years now.
Good article Brian. I hope I can figure out where the rest of it is! I think I subscribed. I’m fairly new at this.
Anyway, a couple of years ago I bought some kind of Ethos product or something that was suppose to save on gas, but I was too afraid to use it and it’s still in my shed.
Do you know anything about that? I think they went out of business.
Nathan
Hi Nathan,
To be perfectly honest, I’ve never used any fuel additives and have always been very skeptical of the results these products promise. If you’re really looking to improve your gas mileage, my best advice would be to become a better driver by reading some of the tips on this site!
Brian
Although we in the States are finally enjoying the low gas prices, other countries around the world are still suffering from high gas prices. They pay by the liter and not by the gallon to make the “bite” less stingy. I do believe that the price of gas will rise again soon.
Heh, gas is the government’s showpiece. They’ll keep manipulating the prices to keep it down to make us believe the economy is OK. As if we didn’t all already know in our guts that inflation is rampant and the whole system is heading for a crash. (See shadowstats.com to get an idea for what inflation really is)
Also I highly recommend Chris Martenson’s Crash Course to get a real idea of what’s coming down the line.
I have to predict that gas will be significantly higher by summer – at least double what it is now. It’s a nice break to be paying $1.75 rather than $3.75. Use those savings to increase your fuel efficiency and set yourself up well in the long run.
I think gas is going to be mildly higher. With the economy in the tank it will be hard for oil to really break out. That said, I have put my money where my mouth is so to speak. I just bought gas for the next 12 months here, petrofix.com. I would have done 6 months but that would put me right in the middle of summer which I am sure is not a good time to be buying gas.
I predict gas prices will remain low no matter how much OPEC cuts production until our economy starts to recover and people start to buy gas again, maybe by the end of summer. Our consumption is down so much now that reserves are being stored offshore in supertankers.
We have an oil glut because we have all stopped driving so much, turned down the thermostat and started conserving on electricity to save money. I personally used 9 fewer tanks of gas in 2008 than in 2007. That’s a 28% reduction for us. (23 tanks v 32 tanks).
Even if prices stay low I won’t be driving any more than I have to no matter what the cost of gas is.
Gas prices will recover and go higher eventually, but hopefully by then we will be using far less of it in hybrids, electric cars and new public transportation. We need to permanently reduce our gasoline and oil usage and eliminate it in the next 10-30 years. Petroleum is the past, renewable energy is the future. I plan to embrace the future.
Sherri
Down. People drive less in winter. Gas prices usually go down in the winter, and this winter is going to very harsh. People will drive less and prices will go down. Unfortunately, so will fuel efficiency.
The price of oil and gas prices at the pump will bottom out and fall back below $15.00 a barrel when the oil speculators lose big time in the market, and it is just a matter of time now!! Greed will only take you so far, Murphy’s Law, what goes up will come down!!