Saturday, September 09, 2006

Gas May Be Headed Back Near $2

It has been no secret that gas prices in the past couple of months have been outrageous. However, I am sure some of you have noticed that the price has been steadily dropping in recent weeks. According to the chief oil analyst, Tom Kloza, at the Oil Price Information Service, prices should keep steadily falling once we pass September 15. The fall in gas prices would be huge for most. Since the hurricanes that hit last summer and the threat that has remained for more, oil has been a scarce necessity. Most people have no other option than to purchase gas, this is how they commute to and from their jobs. Gas companies feel they can charge outrages prices and get away with it because people need this resource and there is no getting around that.

Since the increase in gas prices though, many people have cut back on leisure drives and vacationing because they don't have the extra money to spend on gas. According to Kloza, a few circumstances that have caused the drop in gas prices are, the closing of the summer driving season and the demand for gas, decreasing threat of a hurricane or tropical storm, and the end of seasonal federal requirements on gas that make importing and refining cheaper. Although prices are decreasing, I do not believe they will decrease significantly enough to affect many peoples opinion on outrageous gas prices.

In the last year gas prices have fluctuated dramatically. How have you reacted to increased gas prices around the country? Do you believe that we should be charged so much for a natural resource we cannot live without?

3 comments:

katiedickson said...

Since gas prices have been on the upswing, I have been lucky enough to rarely need any. Carpooling to work has been the best idea, and walking everywhere else helps as well. Driving through Vienna last night I noticed gas was $2.21! Can I just say WOW! It seems like forever since we've seen those wages. It is predicted that gas will be as low as two dollars come Thanksgiving, but is there a chance it will go even lower than that? As it is used everyday by people all across the nation, I believe it will continue to fluctuate. The supply and demand have to stay in balance, and whether we see it fair or not, its going to happen. When it does go on a rise again, we will still use it and the cycle will continue.

Jen Gibson said...

While we may complain about the prices, studies show that the average American drives almost precisely the same amount as before the price rise, so it the cost of gas must not be more than the cost of missing the opportunity to have freedom to travel.

Emily Shuba said...

Everyone complains of high gas prices, but even as prices reached to and exceeded $3.00 this past year, no one was reluctant to fill up their tank. I agree with Jen's earlier comment, in that American drivers are willing to pay for the opportunity to have freedom to travel.