Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:45 AM:  I don’t have a good sense of what is in store the next week or so.  Monday’s price hike was at first blush a bit surprising, but then you look at the numbers and the retail price was about the same as the 0-cent margin price, so that’s why they hiked it.

I want to go back to a posting I made a year ago on GrandRapidsGasPrices.com, to start the "The Gas Game 2008 — Predictions" thread:

"This begins another year of trying to outwit the retailers and buy gas the day before a price hike. If past history holds, prices should climb into mid-January, then sell off for a few weeks, followed by some relentless hikes through the end of March. Next, relatively steady prices until the end of June. July through September … anything can happen, and then gentle drops through the last three months of the year. Some say we’ll hit $4 a gallon in 2008. Others say we’ll get a recession, and prices will fall significantly."

Other than the fact that hikes were relentless from March until June, all of this happened!  We got to $4.25, we got a recession, we got prices falling significantly.

I have to say that I found this year pretty stunning.  Consequently, for the moment at least, trying to get gas for $1.55 versus $1.65 seems kind of silly after gas was over $4 this summer.

Nevertheless, we will be back again in 2009 to play … The Gas Game!

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