It's getting to be a good time at the pumps, with gas prices starting to tick down again. And there are predictions that we're heading into a bargain summer.
Traditionally, it's a season of big ups and downs. For the past 4 summers, gas was no bargain. We all paid over $3.50 a gallon back then. Today, new numbers from GasBuddy.com say we'll be paying over a dollar a gallon less, down to under $2.50 a gallon.
Why? At the Sparks Sinclair station on Victorian Avenue, manager Becky Nicks-Romero has been in the topsy-turvy world of fuel for 24 years. She says the high supply of oil will start the summer party. As she told us, “They're saying that there's an abundance of oil. Right now I was thinking that we should buy a load of fuel today, and my dad said 'I think it's going to keep going down, I think you should hold off.'"
So far it looks like dad is right. Oil supplies are at a peak now. The cheapest summer in 10 years is made for people like Kent Giesy. He drives his gas-guzzling truck, "a lot" he says, “over 2,000 miles a month. I was wholesaling." Cheap gas this summer was his best news of the day: "I love that. I might even take a trip then!"
On the next pump over, that's just what Janet Hadlock had in mind. As she told us, "We have a friend up in Oregon, so I just might make that trip, yeah." And it will mean big savings to Eleanor Jephson. "Grandma" does a lot of family shuttling. “I have a big family and only a few vehicles, and everybody needs a ride."
Back on the other side of the counter, Becky predicts road travel will rule this summer. Her real profits are made with more customers, who end up buying what she sells inside her store. She's looking forward to "More products that we're selling in the store, and it keeps my crew busy."
So, enjoy the good news and the downward trend from here on out. We're already down to $2.73 a gallon at Costco and Sams Club, and $2.77 a gallon at many gas stations in Reno and Sparks. The way things are going…if your tank is half-full, you might want to hold out for that cheaper price coming up ahead.
