Retail gasoline prices drift to 58-month low
Retail gasoline prices tumbled Friday to the lowest level in nearly
four years. And while crude futures rose, analysts believed it was a
temporary pause in an extended, downward arc as the recession spreads.
But
cheap gas is bittersweet news for an economy that shed millions of jobs
this year. Pump prices were driven down mostly because Americans are
staying home more.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.36, more than 6 percent, to close at $37.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading was closed Thursday for Christmas. [AP]