Gas and Food Prices

I took a trip to my hometown today.  The weather was gorgeous.  The trees are all turning beautifully.  On the way home I stopped at a town near home where the gas price was lower than at home.  It pays to fill up every chance you get to save some money.  Then I went to the grocery store there and saved a great deal on a few things I needed.  It was a good trip all around.

Rising Gas Prices

Wow! The price of gas started dropping. It was good to see. I was doing a lot of driving to the hospital in a nearby town. The gas tank was going down fast. Then the price of gas also started dropping. Last night I happily filled up the tank at quite a lower price. Tonight as I drove by that place gas had gone up 4 cents a gallon. Sure glad I filled up last night.

Gasoline Prices

Here we go again, folks. The average national price of gasoline rose nearly 12 cents in the past three weeks. This marks the first price hike after six months of steady decreases and we loved it. I noticed yesterday, the gasoline in our little town jumped up 10 cents a gallon.

On Friday, the average price of regular gasoline was $1.78 a gallon. That was according to the oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg. The price of mid-grade was $1.91 a gallon and the price of premium was $2.02 a gallon. This increase was the first since July 11, when the average national price peaked at $4.11 a gallon. I sure hope it never goes back to that again. It really hurt the average person's budget.

Gas Prices

I heard this morning that the price of a barrel of gas has gone below the $100 a barrel mark. Will that mean lower gas prices for us. I would be very surprised if it did. It seems that once it goes up, it stays up or goes higher, rather than coming back down. I really think we need to start drilling in this country as quickly as we can and get more refineries up and running. Talking about it just prolongs it and they need to start NOW. It is time to let the environmentalists walk. Take away their cars for awhile and see how they like it. I don't think they care a bit about the average person who is using grocery money for gas or spending their prescription medicine money on gas. Those on Social Security or limited income of any kind are really hurting and it is shutting down some really huge companies. They are killing our economy and there should be a way to get started when the United States has enough natural resources to provide enough for the country and sell to other countries. It just doesn't make sense to drag their feet on drilling.

Applebees Restaurant

Went out to supper tonight at Applebees in a nearby town. We have been noticing that the numbers of customers are dropping off all over. It doesn't matter where we go, there are less people eating out it seems. I am sure buying gas is taking priority over eating out. We don't eat out a lot and we go to cheaper places. I think from now on if we are going to plan to spend more money on a meal, it will be Carlos O'Kellys for great Mexican food - our favorite. Everyone is driving too fast and following too close too. We saw a 3 car rear-end collision just before we got to Applebees.

New Balance Shoes

Got a new pair of New Balance shoes last night. Had a $15 off coupon which really helps when the shoes cost $100. They last me about a year or close to it, though. We got gas in that town too for about 8 cents a gallon cheaper than at home. But it doesn't really save you a whole lot. We will be burning quite a bit today and tomorrow and next week. So might as well save where we can.

Crude Oil Prices Continue to Increase

Crude oil rose for a fourth day Monday after Iran's oil minister said OPEC may reduce production when it meets next month. That's a real bummer if they do that again. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries typically cuts output in the second quarter to counter a drop in demand at the end of the Northern Hemisphere's winter. The group, whose members produce more than 40 percent of the world's oil, will gather in Vienna on March 5. Crude oil for March delivery rose as much as 95 cents, or 1 percent to $96.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $95.90 a barrel at 5 p.m. EST. There was no floor trading in New York because of the Presidents Day holiday. It has probably changed some more since then. It seems to change daily. I know gasoline in our little town is rising a little every couple days.

Gas Pump Relief?

Consumers may see some relief at the gas pumps although gas prices rose overnight. But now a Midwest refinery may restart. In the meantime, oil and gas futures dropped sharply from early highs on a growing sense that refineries are finally starting to produce enough gas. The average gas price jumped 2.6 cents overnight to $3.026 a gallon. Gas prices which typically lag the futures market, have risen 7.7 cents over the last week after falling steadily from a late May peak of $3.227 a gallon. July 1, a refinery in Coffeeville, Kansas, due to flooding and the shutdown this week of a huge piece of oil processing equipment at a BP PLC refinery in Whiting, Indiana, have sent prices in the Midwest and Plains states sharply higher, boosting the national average.

Gas Prices

Gas prices are going up again as the price of the barrel of oil rises. We filled our tank on Sunday as it was empty and the next day it jumped up nearly 10 cents a gallon. Gas is something that you need to have unless you are going to be a hermit and stay home all the time and who wants to do that?

Consumer Prices Surge

At the fastest pace in 20 months, consumer prices rose in May. This was fueled by another big rise for gas and also, an increase in food prices, as well. However, prices for cars, airline tickets, clothes, and computers all fell. An increase of 0.7 percent was posted by the Consumer Price Index. This was the biggest one month gain since the fall of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast oil production and energy prices surged. If you exclude food and energy, the increase for so-called inflation was just 0.1 percent,

Consumer Spending

Although Americans shopped rather hesitantly in May, retailers got some relief from the dismal showing in April. Retailers are still raising questions about how strong consumer spending will be in the months ahead. It is clear that higher gas prices and the slumping housing market are affecting how consumers spend. In a cross-section of the industry, sales were disappointing. This included Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy's Inc., and Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

Gas Prices

Gas prices keep going up but American's don't seem to be cutting back any. Ours is up to $3.19 a gallon here and we use Ethanol based gas which is cheaper than regular unleaded. For all the complaining, few American drivers have yet to reach the point of cutting back, even though they are paying $3 or more a gallon to fill up their vehicles. The demand for gas is only just starting to level off even as refinery outages and tight supplies have sent pump prices soaring by 43 percent since the end of January. What we need in this country is more refineries and the environmental kooks are putting a stop to that so I hope they are the first ones to walk where they need to go. It is wonderful to protect the environment but a little common sense has to enter into the situation too.