Good news on gas prices from Professor Farnsworth

I concluded Syria fear premium almost invisible two days ago with my final criterion for recognizing an end to the current crisis at the pump.

As I remarked on Friday, the national, state, and metro area prices are all below where they were before the latest price spike and the neighborhood prices are only four cents above where they were before the latest price spike began.  Those four cents are the only reason I haven't declared the current gas price spike over.

Those four cents disappeared today as all four neighborhood stations resumed selling regular at $3.45.  The Syria fear premium is no more.  Time to break out Professor Farnsworth for the first time since Meijer opened in Detroit this July.


MLive has even more good news about gas prices today, announcing Michigan sees nation's largest annual drop in average gas price, analyst predicts further decrease.

The statewide average price is $3.47 per gallon, but it was selling for less than $3.25 in some areas on Wednesday morning, according to Tom Kloza, GasBuddy.com's chief oil analyst.

Michigan's average price is down about 50 cents compared to one year ago, the largest year-over-year drop nationwide, Kloza said, adding that the gap may widen this month.
...
AAA pegs Michigan's average gas price at $3.50 on Wednesday, which makes it the 23rd lowest in the country. Hawaii has the highest average price of $4.32 while South Carolina has the lowest average of $3.18 per gallon.

The national average is $3.51 per gallon, down from $3.86 the same time last year.

The best news?

Michigan gas prices could continue to drop, according to analysts with GasBuddy.com.

That's because of the end of summer driving season, the replacement of summer blends with cheaper winter blends, and, of course, the end of the Syria fear premium.  Yes, this really is "good news, everyone!"