[Ang]

2.81 here

with snow on the ground and 30 degree temps!

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=18077

home : local news : local news
10/14/2008 11:32:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Around 6 p.m. Monday, the Marathon station on Karwick Road posted regular gasoline prices of $2.98 per gallon. Kristin Miller/The News-Dispatch
Fuel prices fall to about $3 a gallon

By Kristin Miller
The News-Dispatch

Struggling economy helps lower oil pricing.

MICHIGAN CITY - It seems like cause for celebration.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, gasoline was $2.98 a gallon at some stations in Michigan City.

And the lower prices came just after the stock market made its worst decline in history last week.

But experts say the two don't have anything to do with one another.

Demand for oil across the globe has fallen, according to Purdue University-North Central business professor Daniel Rutledge.

"The world price of oil dropped to the $80 per barrel mark," Rutledge said, adding there are several reasons gasoline prices have dropped recently.

The demand for gasoline and diesel fuel has slackened partially because fewer vehicles are being purchased, he said. The economic slowdown is also a factor.

The make-up of gasoline is another cause. In the spring and summer, refineries build up summer blends. Rutledge said he understands that there are as many as 21 blends. Now that fall is here, the winter blend is being circulated.

"Winter blend inventories aren't as demanding as summer blends in terms of composition," Rutledge said.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose $3.49 before settling in at $81.19 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $82.52. The contract fell Friday $8.89 to $77.70, the lowest price since Sept. 10, 2007.

Falling oil prices have helped drive pump prices down sharply. A gallon of regular sank 4.1 cents overnight for a national average of $3.206, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. The average price per gallon in Indiana is $3.07.

Seven states are now seeing average prices below $3 a gallon, including Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. Gas prices should come down even more as U.S. Gulf Coast energy infrastructure continues ramping up after closures caused by Hurricane Ike.

But the United States is not the only country seeing a downturn, Rutledge said. China, France, Italy and the United Kingdom are in the midst of the same "problem," he said.

Investors are watching for signs that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, Nov 18.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari on Saturday called for stability in the oil market, saying the biggest challenge now was a decline in oil demand because of a global economic recession.

"There won't likely be any overt cuts, but there could be an informal tweaking of production that could provide support for prices," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "It's politically unacceptable for OPEC to make cuts in the middle of a global deceleration."

The fact that it's an election year seems not to have an effect on prices. In October and November 2004, gas was $1.52 and $1.45 per gallon, respectively. One year ago, gas was $3.12 per gallon, according to AAA's fuelgagereport.com.

Rutledge said he couldn't make a guess as to how much cheaper gas could become, now near the $3 mark.

But, he said, it could jump back to $4 per gallon by the first part of 2009.

"It's a roller coaster," he said.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Keep driving less!

[mcstumper]

Keep driving less!

And keep making fuel economy a top priority when buying car.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov is a great site.

[Ang]

$2.70 this morning.

[Southsider2k12]

2.88 yesterday.

[Ang]

$2.58 this morning here. It's been dropping a steady 5-7 cents per day here. I can pass the station in the morning, then again at lunch and it will be two cents less. After work it will be another three cents less, then in the evening will drop another two. Amazing!

[JHeath]

2.85 here mid-day.

[Southsider2k12]

$2.69 in town, but $2.59 in the Pines.

[Roger Kaputnik]

At Co. Line Road or at Virk's?

[Ang]

We're down to $2.20! It keeps going at this rate and we'll be below $2 by the end of the week!

[Southsider2k12]

At Co. Line Road or at Virk's?

Both.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-124720

Gas is under $2 at a few places around the country.

[eric.hanke]

I work in South Bend where gas is consistently 20-40 cents a gallon cheaper.

[Southsider2k12]

$2.38 when I got on the train this morning.

[Roger Kaputnik]

$2.37 last night at the station fka Peggy's.

[Ang]

$2.15 this morning at the gas station by my office

[JHeath]

$2.359 at Speedway (Corner of 421 & 20).

[Southsider2k12]

$2.21 when I got on the train this morning...

[Ang]

We finally fell below $2 today. It was 1.98 when I went to lunch and 1.96 when I got back! I hear in Weslaco TX gas is at 1.79!