Prediction: Lower

Friday, August 11, 2006, 9:30 AM: What a crazy week this has been. On Monday, we awoke to news of the Prudhoe Bay oil field being shut down, and hysterical warnings to fill your tanks before gas is $4 a gallon. On Thursday, we awoke to news of a foiled major terrorist plot. By the end of the day on Thursday, gasoline futures on NYMEX had dropped 31 cents from where they were a week earlier, when we got the hike to $3.19. As I posted on GrandRapidsGasPrices.com yesterday, if I was running for governor, I would demand that Speedway and friends immediately drop prices to $2.75 in response to market conditions, just like they do when futures spike 31 cents. The upshot is expect significantly lower prices over the next several days, unless we get a bizarre u-turn in wholesale prices.