Even in the face of impending threatened OPEC production cuts, crude oil settled US$3.84 lower at US$36.22 a barrel today, the lowest in four and a half years.

The BP on Pfieifer fell to 1.49 a gallon a few weeks ago, then went back up to 1.79 a gallon last week, and now it's down to 1.69 a gallon.

And today, crude oil sank even further, closing at US$33.87 a barrel, some US$2.35 lower--the lowest settle price since February 2004.

Bye Bye Dubai!

I tell ya, this is a very good Christmas seeing the oil nations falter.

Oil today plummeted 9.3% - among the largest drops ever - to US$35.35 a barrel as worsening economy signals contraction of energy demand. Some say the US$35 AND US$30 levels may be tested by year's end. Many expect a rebound in oil prices early next year.

^^Well, a rebound is happening eventually...what goes down, must go back up!

Gas Prices Hit Five Year Low:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/27/news/economy/gas_prices/

We're saving $1 billion a day on gasoline:

http://www.freep.com/article/20081227/BUSINESS06/812270370

Since Mr. Kinzel was so insistent that high gas prices would help the parks (and he seems to have been right), will low gas prices paradoxically hurt Cedar Fair and Six Flags (if there even is a Six Flags under current management by next summer)?

I just came home from the corner station, and gas was lower than I've seen it in a long long time.

$1.39/gallon.

Hope this continues, but I'm sure it won't last.....

I just wish I had some sort of mass storage tank, so I could buy enough now, to get me through the summer.

You know it will be back up to 4.00/gallon + this summer

Few realize it, but gasoline formulas change with the seasons. Come summer, you'd have severe drivability problems using winter gas...not to mention winter gas pollutes more! Also, gasoline has a shelf life...as the fuel got that old, you'd also likely encounter problems with your fuel injectors and with combustibility.

I know the formula's are different, but I don't know what the differences are....More ethanol in the summer?

I know the winter stuff has a brown tint to it, and in summer it is much more clear, almost watery....

http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/9/13/234043/431

In short:

...There are two very important (although not the only) specifications that need to be met for each gasoline blend. The gasoline needs to have the proper octane, and it needs to have the proper Reid vapor pressure, or RVP. While the octane of a particular grade is constant throughout the year, the RVP spec changes as cooler weather sets in.....

Winter gasoline blends are phased in as the weather gets cooler. September 15th is the date of the first increase in RVP, and in some areas the allowed RVP eventually increases to 15 psi. This has two implications for gasoline prices every fall. First, as noted, butane is a cheaper blending component than most of the other ingredients. That makes fall and winter gasoline cheaper to produce. But butane is also abundant, so that means that gasoline supplies effectively increase as the RVP requirement increases. Not only that, but this all takes place after summer driving season, when demand typically falls off....

US Gasoline Prices Continue Steady Rise:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessIndu...E50O1T120090125

^^In Indianapolis they have been fluctuating...granted they're not near the $1.30 price anymore, but they still have yet to break $2.00 here. I believe the last time they were under $1.50 was just right after Christmas, and since then they've averaged $1.80.

It seems the cycle is they start low at around $1.70, quickly climb to $1.90, climb to $1.99, then go back low to $1.70...where the prices end nobody knows (so to speak), but anything under $2 is perfectly fine with me.

Today, crude oil settled down US$4.15 to US$41.58 a barrel. Economic reports raising demand concerns were cited as the primary reason.

Low Oil Prices Not Translating To Low Gasoline Prices:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/e...as-prices_N.htm

Low Oil Prices Not Translating To Low Gasoline Prices:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/e...as-prices_N.htm

Yeah, CNN said the US refineries are intentionally cutting refining to inflate prices.

A more in-depth explanation of why Cheaper Crude Doesn't Mean Cheaper Gasoline (this time). Subhead: What we pump is made of foreign oil, not the benchmark Texas crude:

http://www.startribune.com/nation/39648237...Unciaec8O7EyUsl

Gasoline Prices Climb Towards $2:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stor.../16/daily5.html

Today, oil closed at $71.49 barrel, up $2.33...purportedly on supply concerns precipitated by situation in Nigeria, concerns with strength of US Dollar, possible inflation concerns....