A few thoughts on gas.

No. This post will not be about flatulence. You're as bad as my kids at school

Yesterday when I arrived in Berea, gas was $1.81.
Yesterday when I left Berea, gas was $2.29 at the same station.
That's almost a 50 cent jump.
What in the world is going on here?

A couple of weeks ago, I was buying gas in Richmond because it was 20 cents cheaper there.
Last week I was buying gas in Berea because it was 20 cents cheaper there.
Why is there a 20 cent difference among similar gas stations 20 miles apart? Why can't I rely on one town to be cheaper?
That's too many twenties for this twenty-something.

While finding magazines for a project at school, I came across a TIME magazine from 2 February 2015 that had an article entitled "The Cost of Cheap Gas". The author cites four causes for cheap oil, and thus cheap gas:

1. Domestic production surges due to fracking.
2. OPEC, the Saudi-dominated cartel that adjusts oils supplies, has not limited production despite price changes.
3. Less oil is consumed in the United States.
4. Americans are driving less and cars are getting better gas mileage.

Apparently it's a win-win for citizens and the economy. For houses that heat with oil/gas, as much as $767 could be saved this winter. That money can then be put toward a new car, appliance, clothes, dinners out, or any number of things which will in turn help the economy. They predict that lower oil prices could push the US GDP up a half-point.

The lower prices could create other budgeting problems for oil-producing countries and countries that rely on more expensive oil. There's also the fact that fracking in the United States is contributing to that, which could harm the environment. There's also job loss in Texas due to unprofitable oil-containing land-buying.

There are definitely pros and cons to these lower gas prices, but I like when the prices are low. What I don't understand is why the prices are jumping up and down so quickly. Could someone please explain that to me?

Granny Eyre