CNN Money reports, "Fuel prices at the pump fell overnight, a nationwide survey of gas station credit card swipes showed Thursday."  The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gas "retreated nearly a penny to $4.105, down from a record $4.114" on Thursday, according to AAA. 

The drop in gas prices follows a drop in the price of oil.  The Los Angeles Times notes, "Oil prices tumbled for the third straight day Thursday, taking the cost of crude below $130 a barrel for the first time in six weeks and signaling a possible end to a bull run that seemed intent on hitting $150 this summer."  The Times adds, "Although no one would rule out an abrupt reversal like those that followed other dips in recent months, several oil analysts suggested that oil prices could continue to slide."  Some analysts believe a drop in consumer demand is behind the decreasing price, while others caution "that oil's slide was at least partly triggered by a wave of selling on the last day of trading for the August futures contract," meaning the drop is unlikely to last.  "They also noted that a hurricane or new bellicose talk between the U.S. and Iran could shove economic worries to the back burner and reignite oil's climb."

The Toronto Star notes, "Opinions are divided over whether the drop is merely temporary relief…or the beginning of a long-term slide."  Some analysts see decreasing U.S. demand, and an end to government subsidies in other countries, initiating a lasting drop in oil prices. Others, "Including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and CIBC World Markets, hold the view that the global supply-demand outlook will drive oil to $200 a barrel over the next few years. They argue chronic underinvestment in exploration can't be solved overnight, and it will take many years to bring on new supplies -- and great expense." 

The Star cautions, "What all observers seem to agree on is that oil prices will be much more volatile in the years ahead."

The International Herald Tribune adds one concern: "While demand is falling in the United States and Western Europe, oil consumption is still expected to rise this year, because of growth in China, India, and the Middle East. That growth," the IHT writes, "which should reach about a million barrels a day this year, provides a floor for oil prices."  Even if Americans all buy 40 mpg Ford Fiestas and 45 mpg Chevy Cruzes in coming years, some believe, growing demand for oil in other parts of the world will continue to push up the price we pay at the pump.

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