Comment on the February 25 prediction: It was easy to parrot the other predictions last week, but the prediction was CORRECT and that hike did not go over $2. The next day, though, we went to $1.99, and then yesterday it was $2.05. As Speedway posted prices over $2 before under $1, my December 11, 2008 prediction was also CORRECT. Yeah, yeah, big deal.
Friday, March 6, 2009: I’ve been busy watching the stock market in its current meltdown, which started on February 10, so I’ve been a bit slow to post. On the one hand, it is odd that oil and gas prices have held up while the S&P 500 has dropped to around the curious 666 number. On the other hand, every year we see a general upward trend starting in December, and this year hasn’t been any different. (I just wish I had bought UGA in December for $17 a share. It is currently around $23.) One needed to be nimble to predict this week’s hike to $2.05, because the price spike at the wholesale level happened on Wednesday, but here was another example of quickly passing such a spike on to the consumer. Looking ahead to next week, $1.85 to $2.05 remains the range after today’s trading, so expect slow drops around town, but nothing dramatic. It is too early to figure out what next Thursday looks like.