Gas falls a fourth time

When I wrote "it's too soon to tell if a plateau has been reached from just observing the local stations; the last drop only happened today" and "trends indicate continued lower prices," in Gas falls three times in one week, I was more right than I expected.  After still selling regular at $3.44 early this afternoon, the three stations down the street dropped their price another notch to $3.41 by late afternoon, while the corner station held steady at $3.44.  The neighborhood price is now a full dime below the metro Detroit average of $3.51, which is precisely the discount the local stations seem to target.  I should have figured that into my prediction.

As for hitting a price floor of $3.35-$3.39, it's getting close.  Also, The Wall Street Journal reports that wholesale conditions are not as favorable for continued price drops as they were yesterday: Brent Oil Prices Rise to Two-Week High.

Global oil prices rose to a two-week high on Friday as investors prepared for more market-roiling headlines from Ukraine and the Middle East over the weekend.

Brent crude for September delivery rose $1.32, or 1.2%, at $108.39 a barrel, the highest closing price since July 10 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was the largest one-day gain for the global benchmark since June 12.

Light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange ended almost flat, up 2 cents to $102.09 a barrel.
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Front-month August reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, gained 2.85 cents, or 1%, to $2.8653 a gallon.

Looks like the fear premium is returning, however weakly.  Let's see if it gains strength on Monday.

In the meantime, gas is still 21 to 24 cents cheaper than at this time last year.  If it weren't for the dramatic price drop followed by hitting and bouncing off a price floor, I'd post Professor Farnsworth instead of the cat doing the limbo.