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For New Year’s, the price of gasoline dropped yet again

Here's your good news for the end of the year:

The price of gasoline at the pump continues to decline. For the full year, it went from $3.28 to $3.09, with a temporary peak in summer thanks to the Ukraine war.

And in case you're interested, here is the price of gasoline since the end of the Great Recession, adjusted for inflation:

Since 2010, the average inflation-adjusted price for a gallon of regular is $3.61. Right now gasoline is selling for 50 cents less than that.

19 thoughts on “For New Year’s, the price of gasoline dropped yet again

    1. nikos redux

      And drive an extended cab pickup for my solo commute!

      Seriously, of the 8 or so giant trucks in my neighborhood only one home actually has something to tow (an RV)

  1. iamr4man

    I think there was another event that culminated on November 8th that, I believe, played a major contribution to the rise in gasoline prices.

    1. Toofbew

      I suspect you are correct. Big Oil wanted to make Biden look bad to help Republicans. Now they see the writing on the wall and want to avoid a move to break up their oligopoly.

      It is far past time to break up Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Phone/Cable/Streaming, Big Healthcare, and assorted other Bigs. Capitalism dies when there is limited competition and limited regulation. Greed as a motivator is okay as long as it is held in check.

      Without regulation, you get Saudi Arabia style "capitalism" and rip-offs like Saudi land ownership in Arizona where Saudi owned farming is sucking the water table dry.

    2. golack

      crude oil should be priced to include externalities, and prices would be higher....though that won't happen.

      Right now, low oil prices means supply above demand, and Biden refilling reserves to keep prices from falling too low. It also means people think oil consumption is going to go down due to economic problems, i.e. recession in China, US and Europe. In that way, low prices are not a good thing but an ominous thing. High prices should limit consumption, but typically (current times, not oil shock time of the '70's) it means economies are doing good and people are burning thru oil.

      The shift to electric cars will also dampen the price of gasoline, and keep people running their internal combustion engines longer.

  2. Joseph Harbin

    "Here's your good news for the end of the year..."

    Yet a quick scan of headlines on the president reveal an assortment of negative stories: little progress on an end to Ukraine war; the loss in the Title 42 case at Supreme Court; the looming Hunter Biden investigation that's about to be a big story in '23. Even the Bidens' vacation gets a negative spin. It's billed as an "escape," or like this: "Biden vacations in Virgin Islands as Americans face problems."

    Maybe the bevy of bills that Biden has been signing could get more coverage, but that's boring.

    Surely, there are TV reporters at gas stations all over heralding the good news about the recent drop in gas prices. Right?

  3. Silver

    I find it deeply troubling that a decrease in the price of gas can be considered good news by anyone that truly cares about our future.

    1. stilesroasters

      Perhaps it’s not as troubling if you think that re-electing democrats has a significant impact on our country’s ability to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Perhaps that’s too clever by half and I appreciate that, but I think dems getting re-elected is for the next 10 years close to the most important factor in combatting climate change.

      We wouldn’t have gotten the IRA without dems. And it’s implementation will be worse with republicans in office.

    2. Joseph Harbin

      What is considered "good news" or "bad news" about the price of gas is more complicated than what this blog post is about, or what your comment suggests.

      Lower gas prices is mostly good news for the pocketbooks of American drivers, and likewise for consumers of gas elsewhere. At the same time, it is not good news for the revenues and profits of oil companies and other fossil fuel interests (inc. OPEC, Putin, etc.).

      But does cheaper gas mean our addiction to oil is more likely to continue unabated and in the long run we destroy the planet? You would probably say yes, and there is some reason to think so. Higher gas prices would disincentivize use of gas and incentivize faster conversion to cleaner alternatives such as EVs, right? That would seem to be a lesson right out of an economics textbook.

      But the world is more complicated than that. We need more to happen on climate action than market forces will accomplish alone. We need government action as well. Sometimes what's good for market incentives is not good for our politics. For better or worse, the party in power in US politics has an extraordinary impact on what happens with climate action and the fate of the planet. As it stands now, what is good for Democratic politics has a positive impact on the future. Should Republicans capture control of our government, I think that would lead to disaster far beyond any negative impact from the somewhat lower gas prices we are seeing at the moment.

      Note about the market incentives: Gas use tends to be inelastic anyway. Use does not rise and fall in relation to price as it does with many other consumer products, so the "good news" about higher prices -- or "bad news" about lower prices -- is not as simple as it might seem.

      And in regard to the "good news" of having Democrats in power: look at legislation passed this year. It's a huge step forward in the fight against climate change, and none of it would have happened with Republicans in control. Not to mention, the blue state of California has recently banned the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and that may have a bigger impact on adoption of EVs everywhere than anything the federal government does -- or anything that market forces would do alone.

      1. lawnorder

        Gas use tends to be inelastic in the short term. Consistently high gas prices over a period of several years will result in consumption dropping. This has not been seen in the US because gas price spikes just don't last long enough, and governments are politically unable to set gas taxes high enough to properly price externalities such as climate chnage.

      2. Silver

        This is interesting. I interpret what stilesroasters and Joseph Harbin wrote as: low gas prices under a current president means that president will win the next election, hence right now with a democrat president low gas prices means a democrat president after the next election as well. Of course I agree that a democrat president is key, not only to climate issues but in general, and if low gas prices is the one and only key to winning the next election, then I guess it is a price that has to be paid. But is it really that simple? That seems so sad to me. I would like to think there is more to convincing voters than buying them with low prices on gas, but if you say so...

        I guess we have to hope the president finds other, extremely efficient ways to counteract, and surpass, the harming effect of that cheap gas.

    3. geordie

      It could be good news because one would expect that if the price of renewables decreases significantly then fossil fuels will have to decrease to remain competitive. We're not at that point yet but probably will be soon.

    1. Toofbew

      Who could have seen this coming? If you think Trump is corrupt (who doesn't?), then imagine Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Healthcare, Big Justaboutanything. They are all corrupt. Theodore Roosevelt would have broken them up. Where are the regulators when you need them?

      1. Justin

        I happen to work in “Big pharma”. I don’t see the corruption at my employer, but mid-size to small pharma (and especially India!) are a different story. In the US we are quite closely regulated. I’ve been in several on site audits this year. They aren’t shy.

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