Comment on the March 27 prediction: Pretty much WRONG, as we didn’t get a price reset, and if you knew where to look, you could buy gas under $4 a gallon all weekend.
Sunday, April 3, 2022, 3PM: I want to walk through how the past week went. Based on closing future prices on Friday, March 25, we were all set up for a reset back to $4.25, if not higher. But oil prices came in cold on Monday, after news suggesting that Russia’s war with Ukraine wasn’t going so well, with a barrel of oil falling from $114 to below $100 briefly that day. Of course, that put pressure on gas future prices, which meant cheaper prices for the retailers to fill *their* tanks. Neighborhood competition kicked back in (I’m looking at you, Allendale), and we started to see prices below $4. On Wednesday last week, there was a headfake higher again in oil prices, but by the close on Friday, we were just below $100 a barrel, with room for retailers to drop down to $3.89 right now, if not lower.
What I see in west Michigan is that it all depends on location. The Fuller Avenue corridor, which in the past has been a good place for gas price skirmishes, has remained at $4.25 all week. But we have $3.79 in Sparta, and similar prices in Allendale. In the case of Allendale, near where I work at GVSU, a new BP station has opened, which I suspect is going to keep downward pressure on prices in that town.
Going into this week, keep looking for gas under $4. We remain under the influence of news in eastern Europe, but it feels like the markets are trying to find an equilibrium. -EA
Sharonville, North of Cincinnati, I was able to fill up for $3.569 at UDF including the 3¢ card discount. I didn’t think I would ever be somewhat happy to pay that price until now.