{"id":38478,"date":"2016-01-19T15:30:14","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T20:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=38478"},"modified":"2016-01-19T15:30:25","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T20:30:25","slug":"gas-for-46-cents-a-gallon-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2016\/01\/gas-for-46-cents-a-gallon-really\/","title":{"rendered":"Gas For 46 Cents A Gallon. Really?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"CNN Reporting — Gas prices are tumbling around the country — but things got a little out of hand in Michigan this weekend.<\/p>\n

At least three gas stations in the Houghton Lake region engaged in a price war that briefly let drivers pay less than 50 cents a gallon on Sunday.<\/p>\n

If the stations were looking for attention for their low prices, they got it.<\/p>\n

Prices at the Beacon & Bridge Market went as low as 47 cents a gallon after starting the day at $1.77, according to GasBuddy, a service that allows users to track gas prices.<\/p>\n

“It was crazy. The police were directing traffic. Totally insane,” one Beacon & Bridge Market employee told CNNMoney. The employee confirmed the 47-cent price but asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n

The nearby Marathon Gas one-upped that ridiculous price by slashing gas to 46 cents a gallon, according to Judy Miracle, an employee at the station.<\/p>\n

“Customers were shocked — and happy,” she said.<\/p>\n

The Citgo in Houghton Lake was also involved in the price slashing, according to GasBuddy.<\/p>\n

Gas prices have been dropping across the country thanks to the crash in crude oil prices below $30 a barrel. The national average for a gallon fell to $1.89 on Monday, down from $3.68 in July 2014, according to AAA. A month ago the national average was about $2 a gallon.<\/p>\n

But don’t expect to fill up your tank for 50 cents a gallon any time soon.<\/p>\n

The Michigan price war appears to be more of a publicity stunt than part of the broader trend of falling prices.<\/p>\n

GasBuddy said all three stations that dramatically cut prices this weekend are known to have previously engaged in one-off price wars.<\/p>\n

“It’s a quirk, a gimmick, a lark — and not anything related to the oil price collapse,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service.<\/p>\n

The price strategy might draw attention — but at a cost. Given wholesale costs and state and federal taxes, pricing a gallon at 46 cents is basically like “selling free gas,” Kloza said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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