That's per gallon.
There are projections we will see $5 per gallon gas here in the US......maybe more.
But the price of oil per barrel has softened here recently and its expected that it will eventually impact fuel prices.
That decreasing price is ALWAYS slower than the increasing side. It can increase wildly in a few hours, but it may take weeks to return to its previous level.
I always suspected $4 gas was a huge threshold for the American public to cross.
At that level, it begins to dramatically impact what people do and how they budget expendable income.
More in fuel costs to just get to work and the grocery store means people will have to cut back elsewhere......like maybe not going out to eat once a week, or not going to the movies, not buying that new suit for a wedding they have to attend, or just going camping for a few days at a local state park instead of taking a two week tour of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.
For every increase in fuel cost, it means some other segment of the economy is going to suffer.
I remember 19 cent a gallon gas as a teenager.
True story.
That's barely a faint memory now and younger people look at you like you have Alzheimer's and should be on your way to the Loony Tunes Farm when you mention that fact.
Long term, we ain't seen nothin' yet.
If we could just drill for the stuff in the continental US at the rate and in the way we are capable of doing, the picture would be a lot brighter.
But as usual, politics, governmental intrusion, and "political correctness" sticks its monkey wrench in the gears of good economic practice and an entrepreneurial business spirit, and manages to totally skew everything.
