The stock market is plummeting, 401(k) portfolios are tumbling and the housing market is still slumping. At least gas is cheap again.
Prices at several Baltimore-area gas stations fell below $3 a gallon this week, and the metro average dropped to $3.11 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA, down from $3.16 on Monday, $3.62 last month and high of $4.02 in mid-June.
In an interview with The Examiner two months ago, Moody’s associate economist Chris Lafakis predicted gas would hit $3.10 by the end of the year. On Tuesday, he said the faster-than-expected drop has been the result of the recent instability in the global markets.
“I think what happened over the last two to three weeks of panic … is the growing perception that the problems will weigh more heavily on the global economy,” Lafakis said. “If we get a slower global economy, we’re going to use less crude, and there will be a big gap between crude oil production and consumption.”
Prices at the pump varied widely across the metro area. The cheapest gas was $2.72 a gallon, reported at the Citgo on Pulaski Highway in Middle River, while the most expensive was at the BP on Mount Royal Avenue and St. Paul Street in downtown Baltimore.
Maryland’s state average was $3.15 a gallon on Wednesday, just below the national average of $3.16 a gallon. Ten states’ averages were below $3, led by Oklahoma at $2.70 a gallon.
The drop of nearly a dollar from this summer is good news to households gearing up for what’s expected to be a rough holiday season.
“It’s a big savings,” said Daraius Irani of the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University. “This is a flashlight in the whole mantra of darkness with our 401(k)s crashing, our home values sliding. The one little ray of sunshine is gas prices. You feel a little better about going to the pump.”
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has set an emergency meeting in Austria for next month to discuss the worldwide drop in oil demand, and Lafakis said it was likely they would move to cut production. However, he said their action likely won’t affect prices at the pump.
“I think oil prices will continue to be volatile as expectations for global growth rise and fall,” Lafakis said. “This is a very uncertain time.”
U.S. crude for November delivery ended Tuesday down $2.56 to settle at $78.63 a barrel.
Where are the deals?
Highest and lowest prices for a gallon of regular gas in the Baltimore area:
Lowest
$2.72 — Citgo on Pulaski Highway in Middle River
$2.73 — Costco on Pulaski Highway near Mohrs Lane in White Marsh (member price)
$2.79 — Royal Farms at Pulaski Highway and Delsnox Road in East Baltimore
Highest
$3.39 — BP at Mt. Royal Avenue and St. Paul Street in Baltimore
$3.39 — Sunoco at Montgomery Road and Long Gate Parkway in Ellicott City
$3.37 — Shell at Baltimore National Pike and St. Johns Lane in Ellicott City
