At the pump: As a record number of Americans prepare to hit the road this week for the holidays—AAA predicts more than 100 million drivers will travel more than 50 miles from home for the first time ever—they should be smiling as they reach the gas pump. The average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gas has dipped below $2 for the first time in more than six years as global oil supply continues to surge and the price per barrel continues to plummet. The US average this morning is $1.99, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report. A year ago, gas was selling for $2.40. In Baton Rouge, the average this morning is $1.75, down from $2.22 a year ago. However, many local stations are selling gas as low as $1.60 per gallon.
Free falling: Brent crude prices hit their lowest level in over 11 years this morning, hounded by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year. As Reuters reports, oil production is running close to record highs and, with more barrels poised to enter the market from the likes of Iran, the United States and Libya, the price of crude is set for its largest monthly percentage decline in seven years. Brent futures fell by about 2% to as low as $36.05 per barrel this morning, their weakest since July 2004. Brent crude prices have dropped by nearly 19% this month, their steepest fall since the collapse of failed U.S. bank Lehman Brothers in October 2008. U.S. crude futures dropped 31 cents to $34.42 a barrel, their lowest since 2009. Read the full story.
The bottom line: America’s workers may be finally in line for a decent raise. Bloomberg reports that after five years in which annual wage increases have averaged around 2%, salaries are set to pick up as a taut job market prompts more employers to boost pay to retain or add the workers they need, economists said. “This will be the first time in a long time—and I’m talking a long time—that workers will see real wage inflation of some magnitude,” says Jonas Prising, chief executive officer of ManpowerGroup Inc., the Milwaukee-based staffing company with more than $20 billion in revenue last year. Behind the anticipated rise in pay: a steady fall in joblessness to a seven-year low of 5% from a 26-year high of 10% in 2009. Read the full story.
