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There’s been another blooper in Joe Biden’s vice presidential campaign.  But it’s not the Delaware Democrat who is at fault.   At a recent campaign stop, Biden was mistakenly introduced as Republican rival John McCain.  Click here for video proof!

     

Gasoline Prices Continue to Fall

Overview

The nationwide price of gas dipped to its lowest average since May of this year. The dark cloud of turbulent financial markets and dismal economic picture held a silver lining for motorists as gasoline prices dipped lower this week as the price of crude oil and the wholesale price of gas fell markedly.   Some retail gasoline stations (in Kansas City, Missouri) are sporting prices below $3.00 a gallon. Some motorists are still challenged by gas supply outages, caused by the lingering refinery issues in the Gulf region in the aftermath of hurricane shutdowns.

Supply

The gasoline supply situation in the southeastern United States remained difficult but is projected to improve this week.  Supplies have been hampered by a lack of supply from the Gulf refineries and because motorists reacted to temporarily closed pumps by topping off their tanks and lining up at gas stations to fill gas cans.  States that typically have some of the least expensive fuel prices - South Carolina and Georgia – now have higher prices because of supply outages.

Demand

Overall, according to the Energy Department, gasoline demands remains down.  Americans drove 3.6% or 9.6 billion fewer miles in July than they did a year ago, according to data released this week by the Federal Highway Administration.  This is the ninth month of consecutive year-to-year declines and could bring the lowest annual gasoline demand since 2003. Trucking traffic has also slowed. Truckers aren’t buying as much diesel – or fewer trucks are on the road.  Diesel sales at truck stops in August declined almost 8% from volume August 2007, the largest decline in a single month since the beginning of the year.  The average diesel volume for a single truck stop was also down about 7%.

Price of Crude Oil

Oil prices fell, partly on the notion that a slowing U.S. and world economy will lower oil demand. The price of a barrel of crude oil closed Friday at $93.88 / barrel.   The U.S. dollar gained strength this week.  In gasoline pricing, this is important because crude oil, the biggest ingredient in gasoline, is traded in U.S. dollars. 

“AAA expects the national average price of gas will drop significantly this fall, with a possible return to $3.00 per gallon,” said Catherine L. Rossi, Manager, Public and Government Affairs, AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The national price of gas would be even lower than it is now if not for continuing gasoline outages in the southeast U.S.” The Georgia Governor’s office estimates that normal fuel supply levels will not return for another two weeks. 

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)