This week, GasBuddy reported that the U.S. national average gas price dropped for the third consecutive week this week, reaching $2.28/gal on Monday.
While U.S. drivers are certainly cheering lower prices, GasBuddy has found that lower gas prices actually increase the chances of overpaying at the pump.
A recent study found that the lower gas prices fall, the higher the variance or “spread” between low-priced gas and high-prices gas in a given city.
“We’re in a relative period of tranquility and affordability at the pump, and so the data suggests Americans are at a particular risk right now of overspending on gasoline,” analyst Patrick DeHaan explains.
Among the largest cities in the nation, Washington D.C. drivers are currently at the highest risk for overpaying at the pump. The top 5 percent of gas stations by price in the D.C. area are currently charging an average of $3.42/gal for gas, while the bottom 5 percent of stations are only charging an average of $2.22/gal. That variance represents a 35 percent spread.
In addition to Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Chicago all currently have spreads greater than 25 percent.
According to GasBuddy, drivers in South Carolina are currently getting the cheapest gas in the country, at an average of only $2.00/gal. Hawaii drivers are currently paying…
Click here to continue reading
Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!
