After peaking, gas prices start falling

There were 60 million barrels of oil released from the strategic petroleum reserves of 28 nations. It’s said that this release was to help prevent a sudden spike in prices like the one in 2008.

Gas prices have dropped significantly across the United States in the
last month.

The Lundberg Survey indicated on June 12 that the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline was $3.74. Since that time, gas prices have continued to fall. The national average stands at $3.64.

Gas prices peaked this year on May 6 when the price hit $4 per gallon nationwide, only 11 cents short of the all-time record set in July 2008.

The publisher of the Lundberg Survey, Trilby Lundberg, is sometimes referred to as the guru of gasoline prices. Lundberg predicted that gas prices would continue to drop.

“There’s a very good chance that pump prices will continue down because there is an oversply of gasoline at a time when our demand is weakening from unemployment conditions,” Lundberg said, according to
www.cnn.com

Students at BYU-Idaho have noticed the decrease in gas prices. The lowest gas price in Rexburg currently stands at $3.54, which is the same as Utah’s average of $3.549 but cheaper than the $3.652 of Idaho’s average.

“Gas prices have influenced the way I drive. I make more of an effort to walk certain distances so that I don’t have to pay as much gas money,” said Devon Marrott, a sophomore studying psychology.

Idaho isn’t as fortunate as South Carolina, which currently has the lowest average at $3.356 per gallon with Mississippi coming in second at $3.434 per gallon. For those from Hawaii and Alaska, the prices sit at $4.037 and $4.131 per gallon respectively.

“High gas prices have had a huge effect on me, especially being in college and already living on a budget,” said Brittany Kober, a junior studying exercise physiology. “Gas is already an extra expense, and having gas prices be through the roof has been extra strenuous on me financially. If gas prices were to lower, I may be able to travel home to visit my family mid-semester, which hasn’t been an option this summer because of the cost in gas.”

BYU-I encourages students to walk when possible.

“If people are having a hard time paying for gas, make an effort to walk,” Marrott said. “I walk to school; I walk to work; I walk to church and sometimes I will walk to a friend’s house.”