Analysts say that cars can expect more price drops as demand goes down and a new blend of petrol comes out.
IN ATLANTA — Ron Shirley uses every method possible to get around Atlanta. He walks some days and takes MARTA other days. Shirley is learning the entertainment business, and his path to success changes with the wind and the price of petrol.
“I try to take advantage of the train so that way I do not have to worry about these petrol prices so often,” she said. “Yes, the traffic here is terrible.
Shirley has been worrying less lately. The petrol pump prices that shock him are not as shocking as they used to be, he said. GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, keeps an eye on petrol costs across the country. He said that generally, petrol prices in Georgia are one of only 18 states below $3 a gallon.
“Gas prices have been falling now for seven straight weeks across the country,” he said. “That could be a trend that lasts. The fact that more and more Americans are staying inside helps bring down prices.
Also, we are back to using the cheaper winter blend of petrol. For the next two weeks, those two things should keep petrol prices down.
In general, De Haan said, petrol prices go down as the season changes. For example, as summer ends, petrol costs go down. AAA and GasBuddy both say that petrol costs in Georgia are around $2.95 per gallon right now. It is more than 40 cents less than it was a year ago and more than $1.50 less than it was two years ago.
De Haan said that prices dropped a lot in other states compared to a year ago. But Georgia had a petrol tax freeze in place, which made the price difference in the Peach State smaller than in other states.
In spite of what candidates for president say, De Haan said, the Oval Office does not have much of an effect on petrol costs.
“Politicians like to think they are the centre of the universe, that they can drive magical powers,” he said. Petrol costs, on the other hand, are something that the president can not do much about.
Many Americans think that effect is bigger than it is. Your clock will change to standard time at the same time you do. No matter who wins the election, prices will go back up next spring.
De Haan said that petrol costs should keep going down and level off in October or November, unless there is bad weather, a major escalation in a conflict, or another emergency.
He said that this week’s move by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates could have an effect on oil prices, which could then have an effect on how much people pay at the pump.
Ron Shirley said he is glad petrol prices are going down because it will give him more reasons to drive and spend his cash somewhere else. He is busy moving around Atlanta.
Shirley said, “Having more money is always a good thing.” “I may need a vacation.”