Steve
Well-known member
Gas Prices Hit Record Levels
The average price of gasoline - $3.73 a gallon - is the highest on record for this time of year
That puts prices just 38 cents short of the record for any time of the year.
The price of gas has jumped 45 cents since Jan. 1 and is the highest on record for this time of year, a national average of $3.73 a gallon. On Wall Street, talk has turned from the European debt crisis to another worry: Will higher gas prices derail the economic recovery?
The rule of thumb among economists is that a 25-cent increase in gas knocks $25 billion to $30 billion off consumer spending in a year and lowers economic growth by 0.2 percentage points,
The price of gas averaged $3.51 last year, so a move above $4 should divert $60 billion from consumer spending this year,
Last year, it drained an estimated $120 billion.
Prices have never been so high at this time of the year.
Note to economist:.. the 60 billion would be on top of the 120 billion already drained.. ($4 gas would drain 180 billion from our economy this year.). gas would have to drop below the prior years highs, to reduce prior years losses..
either way with anemic growth.. .4% is enough to throw US back into a recession..