By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
“God bless America for the prices being the way they are,” said Neptune Township resident Ernie Ramsey.
Lots of drivers are smiling at gas stations. That’s because prices at the pump are the lowest they’ve been since 2010.
“All that stems from cheaper crude oil prices. The cheaper oil prices are, U.S. production highest since the winter of 1986,” said Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) Chief Oil Analyst Denton Cinquegrana. “That is a nod to the shale boom and production boom we’ve seen in North Dakota and West Texas so the price of crude has dropped.”
The Garden State’s average fuel price today is about $2.74 a gallon for regular compared to about $3.16 this time last year. Cinquegrana says the United States is also importing less crude oil from other countries because of the nation’s increased production.
“There’s less reliance on foreign countries, but also this is a global market and there’s real concern about the European economy. Several economies in Europe and China’s not necessarily growing as fast as it has been in the years past. Japan is in a rough spot as well so when you look at a global market it has an impact on global demand,” he said.
Monmouth University’s Steven Pressman says the declining gas prices will be helpful to the average New Jersey family, but just how beneficial? Drivers are saving about $5 when they fill up this year compared to last year.
“Yes that’s good, but on the other hand, if you look at Christmas shopping, the $5 saving for a 10- or 12-week period is an extra $50 or so. That’s not a huge sum. It’s financial,” Pressman said.
Pressman says the savings won’t lead to a much-needed economic boost, but there will be a secondary positive effect.
“Think about jet fuel prices which are also coming down because the price of a barrel of oil has declined. What that means is air travel is going to start to fall and in addition to air travel falling, think of groceries at the supermarket. The groceries are all trucked in and if gasoline prices are falling and it’s less expensive to transport the food, food prices are gonna fall,” said Pressman.
Pressman says That will lead to a boost in consumer spending, which is fundamental to the nation’s economy.
“Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of the entire economy, close to 70 percent,” he said.
This driver doesn’t plan on saving the extra cash he’s saving at the pump.
“I’m loving it. I get to spend the extra money on my family,” said Toms River resident Kevin McGowan.
OPIS analysts predict gas prices to drop a few cents over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Throughout the winter they expect prices to remain low and even drop potentially to $2.50 a gallon in New Jersey.