atreis wrote:
Care to place a bet as to whether or not the trend will continue (and they'll be down another .80 next year at this time), or reverse and they'll go back up (not $5, but back into the $3.5-$4 range again)?
Betting on low fuel prices is a nice way to lose a lot of money. Good luck.
There's too many variables to bet on it, but my best guess from the available data is that gas prices will continue to drift lower going into the new year, and then level off as demand catches up with supply and crude prices reach equilibrium with shale oil production costs. As that happens, I expect we'll see some pricing bounce back, but my guess is that gas prices will stay below the $3.00 national average level for at least the next few years as new supplies come on line, not allowing for any unexpected inflationary increases for unrelated issues. A side effect of the gas supply and pricing situation is that propane wholesale prices have also dropped significantly. A few days ago I had 250 gallons of propane delivered to my cottage tank at $1.64/gallon.