The severe economic downturn here in the US has lead to all sorts of bad news. Layoffs, business closings, and bailouts dominate the headlines, and good news can be hard to find. One of the only reasons to hold our heads high has been the unprecedented drop in gas prices. The recession has caused a decrease in oil demand, which has lead to fuel costs that dropped from $4.11 per gallon in July to $1.62 today. That's a decrease of almost $2.50 per gallon in only five months.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service, says the meteoric fall of fuel prices has been so dramatic that Americans are now paying $1 billion less per day than they were in July. The extra cash in Americans' pockets is likely helping to avoid an even greater financial calamity, though even a billion a day isn't going to make the recession go away. Still, it's nice that we can go to the gas station without consulting with a financial analyst or raiding the children's college fund.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]Cheap gas saves Americans $1B per day originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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