Have You Seen the Price of Gas Lately? Oil Consumption Down for First Half of 2006

Everyone was screaming when they saw gasoline prices escalate over the $3.00 a gallon mark. There was talk that they would go to $4.00. Of course this was never reported as a supply and demand issue, but more of a political one. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the gas pumps. Gas prices began to fall.  

O’Connor says $2 gasoline “is more likely than unlikely” if the Gulf of Mexico isn’t hit by hurricanes and if there isn’t a flare-up of tensions in oil-producing regions.

According to OPEC, World oil demand growth was weaker than expected in the first half of 2006. In some places like Iowa, the price of gas has actually come down under $2.00 a gallon. Gas prices in Missouri at $1.85 a gallon. Consumer confidence Skyrockets on lower gas prices.

The RBC Cash Index, based on the results of the international polling firm Ipsos, showed confidence rebounding to 93.7 in early September. That marked an improvement from August, when consumer confidence sank to a three-month low of 74.8.

OK, now that gas prices have lowered, can we please develop an energy policy in this country while we are not in a crisis. Can we stop our dependence on foreign oil and look to our own back yard as well as create alternative methods.

UPDATE: 9/18/06 – Gasoline price down 12 cts/gallon to $2.50: govt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The freefall in U.S. gasoline prices continued as the average pump price dropped 12 cents over the last week to $2.50 a gallon, the government said on Monday.

The fall comes on the heels of an 11-cent drop the previous week.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline is down 29 cents from a year ago and the lowest since late March, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of service stations.

The average pump price has now fallen 50 cents in the last month as U.S. crude oil futures prices plummeted from their high of $78.40 a barrel in July to settle at $63.80 a barrel on Monday.