Today’s fuel price musings - A penny saved is better than nothing

June 12th, 2009 at 01:00pm Thomas V. Bona

Prices keep slipping slowly. Yep, they often fall slower than they rise - but that’s because retailers tend to lose money when prices go up and make money when they go down. It’s hard for them to keep up with spikes in wholesale prices - if they jump too high, consumers balk. So often times they go up at a slower pace than their costs, then hold prices up to make their profit. (Last year, gas prices never jumped nearly as much as oil, for example). Would you prefer it the other way - sharper spikes up,  followed by sharp spikes down?

Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped another cent to $2.88 a gallon today. We’re second in the state and tied at 31st of the nation’s 280 metro areas. Chicago remains ahead of us at $2.92. The Illinois average dropped a cent to $2.84 a gallon. The national average rose a cent to $2.64 a gallon. Illinois has the fifth-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia

Diesel: Rockford rose three cents to $2.61 a gallon. We have the third-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average rose a cent to $2.63. The national average rose a cent to $2.55. Illinois is tied with the ninth-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia

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