We're saving $1B a day on gas
BY BRENT SNAVELY •
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER •
December 27, 2008
Americans are paying $1 billion less per day for gasoline now compared with mid-July, when the national average price was more than $4 per gallon, an energy analyst says.
In Michigan, the average price of gas Friday was $1.62 a gallon.
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service, estimates that Americans were paying about $1.61 billion per day for gas on July 11, when the national average price was $4.11 per gallon. On Friday, with Americans buying about 372.4 million gallons of gas per day, Kloza estimated that the country would spend about $611.5 million.
The low gas prices are a reprieve for the estimated 2 million Michigan residents who AAA estimates will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holidays.
Still, Kloza said the relief for individuals is not enough to provide a broader boost for the economy, stalled by frozen credit and low confidence.
Next year, oil and gas prices will remain low, at least until peak driving season returns in spring, Kloza said.
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