by Calculated Risk on 11/05/2012 08:29:00 AM

From the SacBee: Gas prices decline sharply in October, trend may continue through end of the year

"Gas prices at the end of October were dropping at the fastest speeds in nearly four years," said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA Chicago. "If this trend continues, motorists could be paying less than last year to fill up their cars."

Assuming a smooth restart to production following Hurricane Sandy, AAA predicts that gas prices will continue to drop through the end of the year. ... The Northeast is a significant gasoline consumer and not a major producer, so it is expected that the decline in demand from people not driving will outweigh any disruption in gasoline production.

Gasoline prices in California have fallen sharply following the recent spike due to refinery issues, and most areas are now under $4 per gallon.

Brent crude is now down to $105.33 per barrel. Using the calculator from Professor Hamilton, and the current price of Brent crude oil, the national average should be around $3.47 per gallon. That is about 3 cents below the current level according to Gasbuddy.com.

Notes: Add a California city to the graph - like Los Angeles or San Francisco - and you will see the recent sharp increase and decrease. If you click on "show crude oil prices", the graph displays oil prices for WTI, not Brent; gasoline prices in most of the U.S. are impacted more by Brent prices.

Orange County Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com