Gas prices seeing a downward trend in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS -- Slowly but surely, some Minnesotans are starting to find gas under $4 a gallon.
The state average is nearing that mark as well, at $4.07, according to AAA.
A gallon of gas with "3" as the first number on a price is motivation for some drivers to just go for it on sight.
"I mean, it's still pretty high but just to be under $4, I had to make sure to stop, even if I would've needed $10 in my tank I probably would have stopped," said Jesse Linnell of Dayton.
He might have fainted had it seen it below $3, as is the case at one gas station in Oklahoma -- the first in the country to dip below that threshold in many months.
Minnesota's average remains above $4 a gallon, but likely not for long, according to Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst with Gas Buddy.
"It could get as low as $3.75, $3.50 is not impossible," De Haan said.
He says the slide is due to a higher supply of fuel in recent weeks, but mainly due to people concerned about the economy thanks to inflation and rising interest rates.
"And that's why it's a little bit delicate because supply and demand," he said. "It's also a sign of how high prices went that his decline is so substantial."
So why is our grocery bill not feeling the same relief? WCCO spoke with George John, an economics professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
"Which of those prices are going to be going up and going down is anybody's guess," John said.
He says food prices are volatile, and forecasting when they might drop would be foolish.
"I would suggest to families out there that they not try to forecast when there's a better deal coming or that I should buy today because it's going to go up tomorrow. Don't worry about it. Look at the current price. If it looks OK to you, buy it. Otherwise don't buy it," he said.
De Haan says Minnesota's average price per gallon should fall under $4 by next week, but that's still about a dollar more per gallon than at this time last year.
The drop should continue, as long as nothing major happens, like a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.