What's The Deal - Are Gas Prices Going Up Or Going Down?

I'm beginning to think forecasting the price of gasoline is like trying to predict the weather. We hear the forecast for the near future and sometimes the long-term forecast, but how often does it hold true?

How many times have we been warned that a snowstorm is coming with a large amount of snowfall to occur, only to find out that we ended up with just a couple of inches or maybe just a coating? Well, to be fair, predicting weather and precipitation can be tricky, depending on the storm track and terrain.

Gas Prices Nearing $5.00?

As for gas price prediction, just recently I reported about the warning that the cost of regular gasoline could...read that...could flirt with $5 dollars in 2022. No one would be happy with that, and on social media, I read comments stating that they would pay whatever the price ends up. I've got to agree. Unless you switch to public transportation, ride a bike, or walk more where it makes sense.

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Well, now we are hearing a different gas price tune. An article caught my eye from WENY-TV via CNN Business, that prices are beginning to go lower. I did notice a four-cent decrease at my preferred gas station this week (12/6.) According to AAA, gas prices nationally have dropped to $3.35 a gallon, which is a seven-week low.

And the article from WENY-TV reports that the national average will probably drop to $3.01 in January 2022, and for the year average around $2.88 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Current Area Gas Prices

It's still high, but better than $3.50 a gallon. Currently, according to AAA, the average price of regular gasoline in Broome County is $3.48. It was $3.50 last week. In Susquehanna County, PA, the current average is $3.58 and in Bradford Country, Pa, it's $3.60.

Can we count on gas prices dropping now and throughout 2022? Stay tuned for the next prediction, and hope it's not bad news. Like I mentioned above, predicting future gas prices is just like predicting the weather.

via WENY-TV, CNN Business, AAA, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.