Lower Gas Prices – Will the trend continue?

<em>Teri Ann Renee Paisley, Gleaner Online Writer</em>

One of my biggest challenges is figuring out how to fill up my car’s gas tank without killing my pocket.

Often I don’t succeed and drive away with either a big dent in my funds or a small amount of gas.

It’s a simple thing really just fill up the tank and move on but life for the Jamaican consumer is rarely simple as depending on the type of vehicle you drive that can cost you up to $4000.00!

I have noticed however, an encouraging trend of gas prices in recent months.
The trend has been a steady decrease in gas prices since July 2013.

If you rewind to last year December 2012, gas prices were rising steadily so this decrease over the last few months have certainly made me feel a bit more optimistic about my ability in the future to afford to fill my gas tank on a regular basis.

How much have gas prices fallen?

Well at first the increases were minimal. In fact when I first heard of the lowered prices they scarcely made a ripple in my mind because I thought it would not really make a difference.

In June 2013, consumers were paying 45 cents less for gas while they paid 58 cents less in August of the same year.

Soon I realized though that there was some significant positive movement when in July consumers paid $1.35 less at the pumps.

Then came the most recent announcement that effective September 26,2013 gas prices will be lowered by $1.25.

The price of a litre of automotive diesel oil will also be reduced by $2.02.
Those who purchase Kerosene will also enjoy a reduction in rate by $2.47 as it will be sold for $116.66 cents per litre.

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Will this trend continue?
Of course no one knows what the future will bring, but if the trend remains the same then consumers will continue to benefit from reduced prices.

I know it’s probably easy to think that the reductions in the cost of gas are too low for it to really impact your budget. However remember the Jamaican proverb, ‘One one coco full basket.’
This proverb means that even small amounts can accumulate until they are substantial.

So I know the few dollars that we are getting back seem meagre but if the process continues then hopefully in the near future consumers can look forward to spending $5 – $10 less at the pumps.

Remember that retailers will add their own mark up to the prices so it makes sense to shop around and get the best price.

On a side note, recently there was a temporary disruption in gas supply due to a drivers’ strike and the lines at the gas stations were long and since I don’t routinely fill up my tank I was at serious risk of running out of gas.

I decided driving around with just enough gas could certainly backfire if I was caught in a situation where gas was not easily available.

So let me hear from you! Do you think the gas prices will continue to fall?

Tags: gas, prices