Saturday, November 22, 2008

I filled up yesterday, $1.63.9 per gallon and it's gone down more.

As I recall the highest I paid to "top off" was $3.89.9  Now it is under half with the cost seeming to fall even more.

One way to watch the future price of gasoline is thru First Fuel Bank.  http://www.firstfuelbanks.com/V3/FuelPrices.aspx

It's in the St. Could area so not much good for me.  The two amounts to compare are a "rolling account" and a "locked account".  A "rolling account" is effectively a cash or prepaid "house debit card".  Unleaded is currently $1.65.9  The "locked account" is cash or check prepay with the price locked in the future.  For unleaded this is $2.39.9  This is basically seventy-two cents more for a hedged no expiration date future purchase of gas.  Using a credit card for a "current price" purchase is a dime a gallon more than a "rolling account".

The dime a gallon more for credit cards seems like more of a promotion of the house cards than a real savings.  Credit card companies charge 2% to 3% for gas payments so they came close to a dime when gas was pushing $4 per gallon.

Anyway, watch the left and right unleaded prices at http://www.firstfuelbanks.com/V3/FuelPrices.aspx to see future market trends.