Oil Prices Hit Lowest Levels in 18 Mos.

AP via Yahoo! Finance ^ | Tuesday January 9, 9:12 am ET | AP

[Labyrinthos]

LONDON (AP) -- Oil prices fell about $2 a barrel Tuesday to their lowest levels in 18 months in a market expecting more mild weather and rising inventories in the United States...

[Labyrinthos]

Yet the price of gas in my area has barely moved in weeks.

[stm]

$2.19 a gallon right around the corner from my house. It's still a stick in the eye, just not a sharp one.

[2banana]

I can tell you why - because I replaced my 45+ year old oil furnace with a new high tech efficiency one.

And it hasn't snowed because I got 4 new snow tires, a snow blower and rented skis for the season...

[WakeUpAndVote]

It will drop by about 10 cents around mid March and then up 20 in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

[Enterprise]

Oh let's not get too excited here. Another convenient crisis will come along soon to jack the price back up.

[3dognight]

Please don't purchase any spring toys and we'll have it made.

[robertpaulsen]

"to their lowest levels in 18 months"

OK. What was the price of gasoline 18 months ago?

[Mike Bates]

Bush's fault.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

$2.25/gal up here in southern Wisconsin. I've had natural gas heating CREDITS for four months running. I have a bill due this month...for $37.00! Wa-Hoo!

Find your cheapest local gasoline here:

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

[thackney]

Yet the price of gas in my area has barely moved in weeks.

What major city are you near?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So YOU'RE the reason Wisconsin lakes aren't freezing? Knock it off, will ya? I want to go ice fishing! ;)

[Quilla]

Exactly. Gas here has been $2.20 for the past 30 days. With respect to price per barrel, pump prices sure go up faster than they come down.

[2banana]

So YOU'RE the reason Wisconsin lakes aren't freezing? Knock it off, will ya? I want to go ice fishing! ;)

Keep it up and I will go out and buy a new wave runner, upgrade my AC and we will have the coldest summer in memory...

[RockinRight]

Oil prices up $1.42 today = gas JUMPS $.21

Oil prices down $2.11 today = gas creeps down $.01

[Labyrinthos]

OK. What was the price of gasoline 18 months ago?

On July 4, 2005, the average price of regualr gas in NY was $2.269, which is $.22 per gallon less than what I paid at 7:00 a.m. this morning.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html

[NCC-1701]

Past time to start sucking the gulf and ANWAR dry. Also, start drilling off of OUR shores and get off that ME umbilical.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

LOL! I'm making a Citizens Arrest, and Algore is going to have you sent to one of his Re-education Camps. ;)

[facedown]

...and Algore is going to have you sent to one of his Re-education Camps.

Would that be Harvard or Yale?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

His choice. :)

[Labyrinthos]

My theory is that the economists at the oil companies are always trying to find the highest price that the consumer is willing to pay without significant reduction in demand. They tried $3.00+ per gallon and found that demand dropped and wiped out the added profit. The price slowly dropped to about $2.499 a gallon in suburban NYC, the impact upon demand (as compared to $1.999 a gallon) is negligible, and people have accepted that price as the new standard. Therefore, there is no reason whatsoever to drop the price below the standard that people are obviously willing to pay.