Retail gasoline in the United States has fallen to its lowest price in a year as refineries have restored production and stockpiles have risen to an eight-month high, blunting criticism of President Barack Obama’s energy policies. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas dropped 9.5 cents Monday, or 2.8% from a week earlier, to $3.254 a gallon—the lowest since Dec. 19, 2011, according to data posted on the Energy Department’s website. Crude prices, by comparison, are up 2.2% from a week ago in New York. “Retail gasoline has been falling faster than crude prices have,” David Hackett, president of independent fuel consultant Stillwater Associates in Irvine, Calif., tells Bloomberg in a telephone interview. “The real story here is that gasoline inventories have built across the board.” In Baton Rouge, gas prices have fallen to an average of $3.02 per gallon this morning, down a penny from Monday and nine cents lower than a week ago, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. One month ago, gas was selling for $3.18 per gallon in Baton Rouge. Read the complete Bloomberg story here; and check out the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report here.
Today’s poll question: A year from now, do you think U.S. retail gas prices will be lower or higher than they are today?
