The gas price rollercoaster bounces off this year's bottom

I ended the previous segment of the ride on the gas price rollercoaster by noticing it was headed down.

Since the final update of 2012, prices have been bouncing around, but have remained above last year's low.  The prices rose from $3.18 up to $3.35, down to $3.29, then inched lower to $3.28, all during the final week of 2013.  The corner station then raised its price to $3.39 over New Years, while the stations down the block remained at $3.25.  Of course, that didn't last, as the corner station matched their price while the rest held steady.  That happened a week ago.  Today, the corner station dropped to $3.23, the low for the year so far.  That's not the lowest price I've seen in 2013.  Last Tuesday, the stations in Novi were selling regular at $3.19.  No wonder the price here is falling.

The prices continued to drop.  The corner station hit a low for the year so far of $3.21, while the three stations a couple of blocks away matched those in Novi at $3.19, their low for 2013 so far.  Instead of continuing the glide to match, the corner station raised its price to $3.39, dropped it to $3.29, then hiked the price over the holiday weekend to $3.49.  The stations blocks away only went up modestly, first to $3.21 then to $3.27, and stayed there while the corner station was more than 20 cents higher.  That was an unstable situation, which I expected to be resolved in favor of the lower price because most outlets in the area were selling for $3.29.  Sure enough, the corner station lost the gas war and dropped regular to $3.27, matching its neighbors.  That was yesterday.  When I walked to the station earlier this evening, its sign was still displaying its relatively low price.