Crummy Economy Leads to Lower Gas Prices

If you’re tired of hearing about how bad the economy is, we feel for you. We’d avoid all the downer economy stories if we could, but here’s one that’s impacting how we drive and how much gas will cost: In January, U.S. drivers bought 1% fewer gallons of gas than they did in 2007. That’s the second consecutive month when there’s been a decline in gas usage. Why is that a big deal? Gas use has risen an average of 1.6% every week for the past 10 years.

Experts point to the down economy as the reason for the reduction and conclude that lower demand will lead to less severe spikes in gas prices this spring and summer. Of course, we’d throw in the fact that half the country has been covered in snow for the past month or so as another reason people stayed off the roads and away from gas pumps. Whatever the reason, a more reasonable price hike when the weather turns nice sounds good to us. Let’s hope people can afford to take their summer vacations by then.

High Prices Cut Gasoline Demand; Prices Could Drop (USA Today)