With gas retailers engaging in an old school price war to get holiday travelers into their stations, drivers can expect even lower pump prices when they return to work.
Downward spirals are usually something people don't like. Even the connotation of just doesn't sound good.
Except when it comes to gas prices.
If you drive, you can't help but to have smiled this past week, after filling up at a gas station with a price at or under the $2 mark. And it's going to continue to drop, said Jeff Pelton, senior petroleum analyst for Gas Buddy.com.
Prices in New Jersey slid seven cents a gallon last week, putting the average price for regular at $2.14. Close to a month ago, that was considered a super low price. Today? Meh. You can do better. Gas Buddy.com showed the super low prices tumbling through the low $1.90's in to the $1.87 over the weekend.
The federal Energy Administration heralded gas prices this Labor Day weekend as being the lowest in 11 years.
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Ticked off about mass transit? Wondering about road construction? E-mail your questions to NJ.com's transportation expert Larry Higgs. He'll answer your questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays on NJ.com. You can also Tweet @CommutingLarry.Expect to see more of that kind of downward spiral, as retailers battle to keep cars coming to their stations, Pelton said. Drivers could start the week with a three to six cent per gallon price drop, depending on how hard retailers competed for customer traffic over the holiday weekend, he said.
"We are now a great place, because prices are dropping and there will be even more pressure on prices to move down with the Sept. 15 changeover from summer blends of gasoline to cheaper, easier to produce winter blends," Pelton said.
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Drivers can expect to start the week with lower prices, since Labor Day signals the official end of the summer driving season and a drop in demand, which brings with it, a drop in price, he said.
"These two things combined will lead to more savings in September," Pelton said.
Other factors contributing to declining price include record amount of crude oil in storage on American shores, 455 million barrels worth.
Crude oil accounts for contributes 46 percent of the price of gas. Refining crude oil in to gasoline makes up 25 percent of the cost, marketing and distribution 13 percent, and taxes 16 percent of the total per gallon price, according to the EIA.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.