RSS Feeds
 |
|
|||||||||||||
News » Top Story
Article rated a 0
by 0
users |
Gas dropped down to $2.91 in Evansdale, Iowa Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2008. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
~ADVERTISING~
Gas drops below $3 a gallon at Cedar Valley stations
By JIM OFFNER, Courier Business Editor
WATERLOO --- Gas prices locally have dipped below $3 at many retail locations, as the price of crude oil, which comprises about 64 percent of the price consumers pay for gas, has dipped below $90 a barrel.
The price for 89-octane gasoline with 15 percent ethanol content was running at $2.99 per gallon at many locations. Regular unleaded was running about 7 cents higher. Some stations dipped below $2.90 a gallon later Tuesday.
Less than four months ago, the same fuel was selling at nearly $4 per gallon.
"It's just going crazy right now," said Jim Lind, owner of Jim Lind BP Service, 230 E. Ridgeway Ave.
Troubles on Wall Street, which recently received a go-ahead from Congress for a $700 billion bailout, is perhaps the key role in the current tumble of prices at the pump, Lind said.
"People are scared right now," he said.
The price break comes as a welcome relief to consumers who have had to deal with storms, floods, soaring energy prices and the recent troubles on Wall Street, Lind said.
Financial advisers had prescribed patience and that the crisis would abate, Lind said.
"I heard (a financial adviser) telling his people to hug the cactus right now, stay the course, keep your finances in order," Lind said. "It's going to hurt a little bit but long-term, that cactus has nutrition for you. And, as you can see on the signs, the gas price is dropping like a lead balloon. We've been lower than the national average. We're still below the national average."
There has been talk of gasoline prices falling to the $2.50 level, but that would take a dramatic further drop in the price of oil, said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Convenience Stores.
"If oil continues to drop and goes to that $70 (per barrel) range, we're all happy and might see something like that," Lenard said. "Another $20 drop equates to about 50 cents at the pump."
Prices tend to fall, anyway, during the fall, when travel lightens, Lenard said.
But Wall Street's troubles have made the current price decline more noticeable, Lenard said.
"Retailers would love to see prices lower, particularly when we're seeing daily drubbings on Wall Street and consumers are more worried about their money than ever," he said. "The drop in oil prices and what we'll likely see at the pump couldn't be better news at the pump for everyone right now."
Nationwide, the retail price of a gallon of gasoline Monday was $3.48, down nearly 15 cents from a week earlier, although still more than 71 cents higher than the same date in 2007.
Prices were averaging $3.39 in the Midwest, down nearly 22 cents from a week earlier, although nearly 64 cents higher than a year ago.
The highest average retail price in the U.S., $3.67, was in the Lower Atlantic region, which has been dealing with supply shortages in the wake of last month's Hurricane Ike, which disrupted production at numerous Gulf Coast refineries.
But prices were beginning to moderate even there, Lind noted.
"The shortage is much better," he said. "It's calmed down immensely. The big factor is everybody had every coffee can, every gas can filled up, every container filled up; there's so much hoarding that was going on down there. That added tremendously to the problem. We just don't appreciate what happens when all the sudden you're topping off. The system is not built for that."
Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.
The price for 89-octane gasoline with 15 percent ethanol content was running at $2.99 per gallon at many locations. Regular unleaded was running about 7 cents higher. Some stations dipped below $2.90 a gallon later Tuesday.
Less than four months ago, the same fuel was selling at nearly $4 per gallon.
"It's just going crazy right now," said Jim Lind, owner of Jim Lind BP Service, 230 E. Ridgeway Ave.
Troubles on Wall Street, which recently received a go-ahead from Congress for a $700 billion bailout, is perhaps the key role in the current tumble of prices at the pump, Lind said.
"People are scared right now," he said.
The price break comes as a welcome relief to consumers who have had to deal with storms, floods, soaring energy prices and the recent troubles on Wall Street, Lind said.
Financial advisers had prescribed patience and that the crisis would abate, Lind said.
"I heard (a financial adviser) telling his people to hug the cactus right now, stay the course, keep your finances in order," Lind said. "It's going to hurt a little bit but long-term, that cactus has nutrition for you. And, as you can see on the signs, the gas price is dropping like a lead balloon. We've been lower than the national average. We're still below the national average."
There has been talk of gasoline prices falling to the $2.50 level, but that would take a dramatic further drop in the price of oil, said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Convenience Stores.
"If oil continues to drop and goes to that $70 (per barrel) range, we're all happy and might see something like that," Lenard said. "Another $20 drop equates to about 50 cents at the pump."
Prices tend to fall, anyway, during the fall, when travel lightens, Lenard said.
But Wall Street's troubles have made the current price decline more noticeable, Lenard said.
"Retailers would love to see prices lower, particularly when we're seeing daily drubbings on Wall Street and consumers are more worried about their money than ever," he said. "The drop in oil prices and what we'll likely see at the pump couldn't be better news at the pump for everyone right now."
Nationwide, the retail price of a gallon of gasoline Monday was $3.48, down nearly 15 cents from a week earlier, although still more than 71 cents higher than the same date in 2007.
Prices were averaging $3.39 in the Midwest, down nearly 22 cents from a week earlier, although nearly 64 cents higher than a year ago.
The highest average retail price in the U.S., $3.67, was in the Lower Atlantic region, which has been dealing with supply shortages in the wake of last month's Hurricane Ike, which disrupted production at numerous Gulf Coast refineries.
But prices were beginning to moderate even there, Lind noted.
"The shortage is much better," he said. "It's calmed down immensely. The big factor is everybody had every coffee can, every gas can filled up, every container filled up; there's so much hoarding that was going on down there. That added tremendously to the problem. We just don't appreciate what happens when all the sudden you're topping off. The system is not built for that."
Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.
 |
More Stories from News » Top Story
Gas drops below $3 a gallon at Cedar Valley stationsFormer roommate of alleged hit man testifiesIowa roadways filled with wind tower bladesUPDATE: Damm takes stand, denies ordering Hill's deathHardin official pleads guilty to misappropriation
Due to the amount of spam and negative comments received, the Courier implement a registered-user system for participation in the comment portion of our site. In doing so, the Courier reserves the right to ban any user(s) at any time without notice if we feel they are not following the terms of agreement.
DISCLAIMER: The Courier provides our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. For a more in-depth explanation of our policy, please see our Rules of the Road. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
~ADVERTISEMENT~
NEWS |
SPORTS |
COMMUNITY |
BUSINESS |
ENTERTAINMENT |
FEATURES |
OPINIONS |
OBITUARIES |
CLASSIFIEDS |
PRIVACY POLICY |
CONTACT US |
CARRIER PAGES
|