how low will the price of gasoline go?

You can bet your backside it won't ever be below a dollar anymore!

 

$2.79

 

Why? Are you awarding prizes?

 

This week it went down to 3.35, up to 3.39, and back to 3.37 all in one week, same Shell station. I wouldn't call that dropping like a rock, more like a feather, with a few updrafts thrown in!

 

Who cares ... I drive a Prius.

 

How low will it go is irrelevent....it should be How LONG will it stay at low price.

 

It's $2.53 at my local station and still falling...

 

Don't hold your breath, OPEC won't let the price per bbl go very much lower without curtailing production to get the price back up.

I also think that they are getting used to having the price high, so they may have a hard time "rallying the troops" in OPEC when it comes to enforcing production quotas. We'll see...

With as much money OPEC has, they do not comprehend what it means to cut back their incomes and live on a budget...like WE all have to when energy prices rise. Knowing that oil is a "finite" resource, I'm sure they will keep the price up as high as they can. Since all they have to contribute to the world after oil's gone is high-grade sand. Time to find alternatives...

 

I think that the price of gas will go down to $ 0.00 ,,, in about 50 years. By that time there will not be any left.

Keith

 

This whole thread is a troll...

 

Filled the Tundra at 2.39 today, saw 2.37 a few miles later.

 

I think the Saudi's are being nice and doing there part to help the world economy. As soon as the economy perks up, so will the prices.

 

lol, all my SUV co-workers are getting all excited and being all self righteous trying to say how 'dumb' I was to buy a Prius. I tell them I bought the Prius for a flurry of reasons and gas was one of them (as a Software Engineer I like high tech cars). I remind them that although I bought my Car in April when gas prices were skyrocketing, I bought this new car because my '96 Plymouth Breeze kept dying at intersections (and the Breeze was not supposed to do that unlike my new Prius). I did not buy a Prius because of high gas prices. Although I was being extolled for my high intellegence because of high gas prices (from the same SUV co-workers). It's all laughable!

Anyway that's a side note. My point is all these silly SUV drivers are exclaiming that all is well now that gas is dropping. Well I got news for them...

Gas dropping now is not a good thing! Huh? Really... Of course it sounds counter intuitive.

But our economy is collapsing. Inflation is surging and the value of our dollar is sinking. The demand on gas is dropping because of all of this.

--Not good-- When I remind my co-workers this they seem to not get it...

Gas is dropping because WE ARE IN A RECESSION!

I grant you we could be in a Recession and have high gas prices. But I just laugh at how stupid people are about gas dropping a dollar.

Sorry folks this is NOT good news.

 

I disagree with your assertion that we are in a Recession. We are in a full on Depression.

 

That's political rhetoric. Most economist define a depression to be a drop in GDP of about 10%... We are not even close to that. I agree if we don't stabilized the financial markets quickly, we could be there. But let's not be alarmists. We technically are not even in a official recession yet (GDP % drop for three strait quarters). Do I think we could enter a Depression? No I don't... Do I think it's possible. Sure I do... We are in a very precarious position. But people spreading 'we are in a depression' nonsense first of all waters down what my grandparents actually went through, and only serves to spread panic in a already unstable market.

It may be popular political speak in some liberal ciricles. But we are just not even close yet.

 

brian,

Depression talk is premature, but we've been in recession for over a year (I expect that once it is put in the books that is roughly where it will be marked.) The difficulty is that GDP is discounted for CPI, but the CPI figures have become increasingly bogus so that few put much stock in them. CPI doesn't measure inflation well (PPI does a better job of measuring inflation, but isn't geared toward the consumer.) CPI has been fudged so that comparisons with standard past metrics no longer work, but the rules for the comparison were not updated to reflect the changes.

True real GDP has run well below what has been claimed, because CPI is now so abstract that many consider it fiction. If we were using the same sort of CPI calcs as in the 70's or early 80's there would be no discussion about the technical aspects of this recession. Most would instead be shocked how far back it extends. There are some valid reasons for adjusting CPI calcs, but the adjustments have been taken too far from what I can see.

By the way, your definition of recession is incorrect. It does not require three straight quarters, or even two (the most commonly quoted value.) There is no hard and fast rule, although two straight quarters of GDP decline will almost certainly qualify.

A depression would not have to equal the Great Depression (which really was catastrophic in its depth and extent.) I doubt that any depression we might have would be as severe. We are starting from a far higher standard of living for one, so even the same percentage drop in our standards of living and unemployment would be less directly painful in terms of feeding ourselves or finding basic shelter. However, it would still be well beyond what any of us are accustomed to other than the dwindling number of Great Depression survivors.

The problem is that we can see a direct path to depression from where we are and have had to take extreme measures (into the trillions now) trying to shore things up to avoid that eventuality. With folks talking about not committing Hoover's mistake of waiting for the private sector to sort it out, and since the remedy has not really kicked in as hoped so far, there is good reason to be alarmed regardless of political persuasion.

 

I hear that. I put $20 in the tank once a week or 10 days (300 miles a week) This week it could be a little less. whatever.

The Expedition used at least $550 a month to drive the same 1200 miles. and at low $3 a gal price too. lousy mpg

Thats from 2.1 miles per dollar in the Ford to 15 + miles per dollar in the Pri!

Thats $60 + a day vs $2 a day in the Prii for a 60+ mile round trip!

 

Someone once said that we're in a recession if your neighbor gets laid off and we're in a depression if you get laid off. We have a lot of fear out there and it continues it's going to make things that much worse.