Sunday, August 31, 2008

Hurricanes and Gas Prices


We all felt the pinch at the gas station over the summer when gas peaked on July 11th at about $4.11 per gallon. Since July, gas prices have fallen with oil prices and the national average today is about $3.67. ( that's about a 10.7% drop over a month and a half). Oil and gas have dropped with the fear that higher oil prices will slow demand in the US and globally.

Hurricane Gustav heading towards the gulf also effects supply and demand.

Nearly 30% of our nation’s offshore oil production comes from Gulf Coast waters, while onshore refineries in the region produce nearly half the nation’s gasoline.When hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the Gulf less than one month apart, our nation temporarily lost one-third of its total refining capacity and nearly one million barrels of oil production a day.

Hopefully Gustav will miss the oil fields and we will continue to see a drop in gas prices, otherwise we could see a temporary increase. This week the Hurricane has already halted the drop in oil prices.

Read more here.



No comments: