Monday, May 5, 2003

On March 7, wholesale unleaded gasoline was $1.16 a gallon. Last Friday, it was $0.77. That’s a 33% drop in wholesale prices. Retail prices have been slow to adjust. Take 33% off of the high of $1.80 in March, and you get $1.20. Of course, it isn’t that simple, and retailers have gasoline sitting in their tanks they paid more for a few weeks ago, but as new supplies come into town, prices should continue to drop. I don’t see a price hike this week, just drops of 1 to 3 cents a day. Next week, we’ll start thinking about the “10-cent Chicago Summer Premium”. A price hike to $1.49 spread slowly across the area on Thursday, so I was WRONG!