Gas price free-fall continues

Wisconsin- $1.79/g, down 8.3 cents per gallon from last week’s $1.87/g. A gas station in Houghton Lake, MI was even selling regular gas for as low as 78 cents per gallon.

Experts cited a “gas war” in MI between rival fuel stations as the reason for the weekend’s sharp decline in gas prices.

GasBuddy is the premiere source for real-time local gas prices. Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with the firm, said the MI stations are the first ones in the USA selling gas for less than $1 per gallon.

Monday in Carson City, a GasBuddy.com check of pricing at 25 motor fuels outlets showed a range starting under $1.80 and escalating to just under $2.40 per gallon.

GasBuddy’s forecast says gas prices should rise as the summer driving season approaches, but will again fall by the end of 2016.

The gas price in MI fell to a level not seen in years, leading many drivers to think it was a mistake.

A glut of crude oil on world markets has been pushing down the price of oil products, including gasoline. That is almost 10 cents lower than it was at this time last week.

“When oil prices slide, I’m happy filling my SUV”, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith told a Pinellas audience this month. “As the situation unfolds, it’s possible these stations re-raise prices back over $1”.

There are already some 38million barrels of oil in the country’s reserves ready to enter the market, according to the International Energy Agency.

And this week, Iran plans to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels per day now that sanctions have been lifted in the nuclear deal.

Gasoline prices are driven mostly by factors like oil prices, proximity to refineries, refinery capacity and state taxes and levies. The statewide price of a gallon of regular was $2.09 in New York, GasBuddy reported.

The price of crude oil hit a 12-year low last week when North American and global benchmarks dropped below $30.