# Are gas prices down for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119 "2014-10-31T13:21:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/21 "2014-10-31T19:10:53Z")
An “order of magnitude lower” is saying that they’re paying $.289/gallon for gas that everybody else is paying $2.89/gallon. I.e., one “order of magnitude” is a factor of 10. You’re link shows a wide range of prices, but nothing that’s “an order of magnitude” lower. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/22 "2014-10-31T19:14:07Z")
$2.85 here in Eagle Ford shale country. Fracking is a part of it, Saudi Arabia saying that they’re not going to cut production in order to keep prices above a certain amount is another, a third is a general glut of oil caused by decreased demand, and a fourth is the lowering of the “Middle East conflict” premium that was built into the price of oil and gas to begin with. If the winter is relatively warm, prices might stay this low for a few months. OTOH, if it’s a very cold winter, the added demand for heating oil may cause oil prices to rise. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/23 "2014-10-31T19:14:11Z")
Sacramento Ca area. Prices at ARCO (the cheap stuff) just got below $3.00 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/24 "2014-10-31T19:42:53Z")
Yesterday it was $3.05. Haven’t seen a price yet today. Yes, it’s been going down steadily for several weeks. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/25 "2014-10-31T21:38:53Z")
Here in France the prices have been dropping too. In my area they’re down to 1,21 euro/L for diesel, a price I had last seen back in 2007, compared to more than 1,3 euro/L just a few weeks ago. Surprised me a lot. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/26 "2014-10-31T23:58:36Z")
Way down. I’ve seen it as low as $2.79 here in Tucson. The good news is that prices are expected to drop another 15 or 20 cents by Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/27 "2014-11-01T00:04:11Z")
Gas has been under $3 here in NE Indiana for the first time in almost five years. They boosted the price back over $3 for two days last week, but it dropped and has been steadily dropping since then. **Fracking…it’s FAN-tastic!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/28 "2014-11-01T00:06:37Z")
Tennessee–i paid $2.61, pre-Kroger-Discount of 3 cents per. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/29 "2014-11-01T00:44:39Z")
2.71 at Costco. Been a while since other states made us look “pricey”. Hmmm ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/30 "2014-11-01T13:26:27Z")
Don’t know what our “regular” place is charging. But the QuickiMart near us is at $2.92 and that’s usually the highest place around. It just **leaps** out at me each time I drive by. There have been many times since 2008 that “experts” have predicted we would never see gas under $3 a gallon again. [Here’s](http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/012009/01022009/436270/index_html?page=2) an article that references such predictions. I remember after reading one of those predictions that I paid $2.99 just a couple months later. Note that $2.92 today corresponds to $0.39 in 1964. Definitely a rip-off. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/31 "2014-11-02T00:06:17Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Note that $2.92 today corresponds to $0.39 in 1964. Definitely a rip-off. Adjust for inflation–milk, locally, is $2.99 a gallon. How does that shape up to 64? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/32 "2014-11-02T01:02:13Z")
And don’t let anyone tell that this gas price drop has anything to do with the election on Tuesday! Just because the drop might make people feel a little bit better about how the economy is doing and how that just may make one feel a little better about those currently in power, this gas price decline has \*nothing \*to do with politics! ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/33 "2014-11-02T01:06:30Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > No change in the Caribbean. Equivalent to about US$5.88 per US gallon here. Where in the Caribbean are you? Diesel prices have fallen a full 15% over the past few weeks here in the Dominican Republic. Since that is what I burn I don’t keep track of gasoline. But I am still paying $4.50 per gallon for my diesel here. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/34 "2014-11-02T01:12:42Z")
I saw $3.04/gal. in Hollister CA last weekend. That’s down quite a bit. The station right around the corner from my place in San Jose is selling regular for $3.29. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/35 "2014-11-02T03:18:46Z")
I paid $3.59 for premium yesterday, in Sacramento. That was at the Shell station nearby just off the freeway, so it’s nowhere near the lowest price in town. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/36 "2014-11-02T03:46:36Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Adjust for inflation–milk, locally, is $2.99 a gallon. > How does that shape up to 64? Price of milk in 1964 was .49/gallon, gas was .30/gallon. So milk is a bit cheaper, while gas is 30% more expensive. But given that the cars today get far better mileage, on a per-mile basis, gas is still cheaper today than inflation-adjusted 1964. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/37 "2014-11-02T03:56:42Z")
Bay Area here, just filled up my car today and noticed it was much cheaper than usual. $3.40/gallon for 91 octane. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/38 "2014-11-02T15:12:07Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Price of milk in 1964 was .49/gallon, gas was .30/gallon. > > So milk is a bit cheaper, while gas is 30% more expensive. But given that the cars today get far better mileage, on a per-mile basis, gas is still cheaper today than inflation-adjusted 1964. I was giving the 2.92/gallon as an example \*high\* value here. I calculated that the cheapest places w/customer loyalty discount would indeed be around .30/gallon in 1964 prices. It has been the case for some time that the _long_ term average price for gasoline is remarkably constant. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/39 "2014-11-02T15:29:13Z")
Just wondering how much the taxes on a gallon of gas have gone up since '64 - seems to me that needs to be accounted for to give an accurate comparison. I know when I first got to Indiana in 1976, sales tax was not included at the pump - you had to pay that in addition. But while I was there, they mooshed it all together, so you paid what the pump said. We’re driving to Florida in a couple of weeks to help out my FIL post-knee replacement - I’m not dreading the cost of fuel nearly as much as I have in the past. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119/40 "2014-11-02T15:58:53Z")
Lowest I’ve seen so far is $3.09. This is all a very good thing for the economy, even it’s only short term relief. It won’t amount to much for individuals, the big impact will be in the savings in production and distribution, but at least the money isn’t being funneled into the our oil company overlords. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gas-prices-down-for-you/703119.md?page=3)