Blog | Myrtle Beach and South Carolina expected to have sub $2 gas soon
You think gas is cheap now, with some Myrtle Beach area stations selling the stuff by the gallon for less than $2.40?
Well, it’s likely to get really cheap sometime early in 2015, according to analysts. Oil prices continue to plummet, even after OPEC, which for the longest time could dictate world prices, lowered its output goals for 2015. Oil prices have fallen by about 40 percent over the past several months and early Wednesday morning were down a couple more dollars.
It wasn’t too long ago I was writing about gas falling below $3 per gallon in Myrtle Beach.
Here is that mid-September post.
According to an analysis by Marketwatch, South Carolina is likely to be one of 8 states in 2015 to experience gas prices as low as $2, or lower:
According to the Tax Foundation, last year, South Carolina had the 47th highest gas tax among all states at 16.8 cents. Oklahoma was 46th at 17 cents$.17. Missouri was 45th at 17.3 cents. Mississippi was 44th at 18.8 cents, and Louisiana was 38th at 20 cents.
Read more here and find out who the other 7 states are.
Of course, no one saw prices falling this low this fast, and no one likely knows how long these low prices will remain.
In the meantime, though, it’s not a bad time to fill ‘er up.
The Wall Street Journal says lower gas prices are like a huge tax cut for the middle class:
Lower prices at the pump, down about 60 cents a gallon from a year ago, will have the equivalent effect of cutting taxes in the U.S. by between $100 billion and $125 billion, Goldman Sachs economists said Wednesday. Americans spent $370 billion on gasoline last year.
The benefit will flow across the economic spectrum , but help the middle class most.
“As a share of total household spending, middle-income households spend the most on gasoline,” Goldman analysts wrote in a note to clients. “In other words, the drop in gasoline prices can be considered a middle class tax cut.”
Will you knowingly change your spending habits because we are not being pinched as much at the pump?
This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Blog | Myrtle Beach and South Carolina expected to have sub $2 gas soon."