Today’s fuel price musings - Come on oil, fall faster!
6 comments July 16th, 2008
I know it’s confusing. Oil prices have dropped a bunch this week, but gas prices are going up? Remember, it’s not a direct line between oil prices and gas prices, but moreover, remember that gas prices weren’t high enough to really offset the past jumps in oil prices. Retailers were losing their shirt, and now they’re playing “catch up.”
Oil prices settled at $134.60 a barrel today, which is almost 4 percent higher than a month ago. and 83 percent higher than a year ago. Gas prices in the Rockford metro area rose today to hit 3 percent higher than a month ago and “only” 28 percent ahead of a year ago.Consumers aren’t the only ones getting hurt here.
Numbers, as always, courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com:
Gasoline: Rockford rose more than two cents to a record $4.20 a gallon. We’re fourth in the state in gas prices. The state average increased more than a cent to a record $4.25 a gallon. The national average increased half a cent to a record $4.11. Illinois has the eighth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped almost a cent this morning to $4.83, about three cents below the record set in May. We have the fifth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average increased almost a cent to a record $4.86 a gallon. The national average increased almost a cent to a record $4.84 a gallon. Illinois has the 20-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
