Gas: What a deal!

Maybe it's a bit early to roll out the SUVs and pick-ups, but pump prices continue their downward move. The government's latest numbers show that the average price of unleaded regular in L.A. is $4.221 a gallon, down from $4.339 last week. Prices have fallen by almost 40 cents a gallon over the last seven weeks (they are well under $4 a gallon in many parts of the U.S.). Actually, the numbers might be even lower, but refiners and station owners appear to be slowing down their price cuts in order to recoup some of the lost profits from when oil began to skyrocket - and gas did not rise proportionately. Anyhoo, oil is the ultimate determinant of how much we pay at the pump, and oil took another sharp drop today, settling at a little over $121 a barrel. There is quite a debate in the energy world as to whether this means that the oil market has turned bearish - with more sizable drops to come - or whether it's merely a short-term reprieve. Here are the numbers from the EIA.