Gas prices to finally drop somewhat in June

Do you remember those halcyon days in 2008-2009 when gas prices hovered around $2 and it was awesome?

They’ve been steadily increasing up until this January, when they began sharply increasing. (Prices for gas right now here on Long Island have shot up to $4.59 per gallon at some locations.) Analysts say that the trend may finally begin reversing, albeit slowly. Consumers can expect a drop of perhaps 50 cents a gallon by June, maybe because President Obama has “opened a probe” of market speculators, a move that sounds frankly physically uncomfortable.

BusinessWeek says that even if the decline gets underway by June, you may not see it immediately:

Station owners still feel bruised from their own higher costs earlier this year. In some cases, their suppliers raised prices so quickly that station owners couldn’t pass along those higher costs to consumers fast enough. Competition also makes it hard for some stations to raise prices.

“So station owners will be watching each other this summer,” [retail pricing director Fred] Rozell said. “When one guy drops, so will the other.”

Dropping gas prices just 50% would save American drivers $189 million each day.

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