An article in from Automotive News tells us... what we already know. Even though gas prices have declined since their almost record-breaking highs on Memorial Day, consumer confidence is at a low. What is interesting about the article is that it points out that not only is our confidence in oil down, but that lack of confidence extends to other parts of our consumerism.

Case in point, many retailers including Wal-Mart <gasp> have reported disappointing sales figures for last month. This indicates that because of all the uncertainty the average consumer is coping with in our economy, they are conserving their spending, and thereby not stimulating the already-ill economy. Even the housing market is unstable now, according to the article.

AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report gathers data from about 85,000 gas stations across the U.S. and posts its findings on www.fuelgaugereport.com. According to the site, as of June 8th, the highest reported price for gas was found at Beaver Island, Michigan, where drivers were Shell-ing out $4.51/gallon. On the other side of the spectrum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania reported $2.53/gallon. I just paid $3.54 in the Chicago suburbs, so I don't want any of our Lancasterite readers complaining.

[Source: GasPriceWatch.com via Automotive News]

Maybe you figured this out when you filled up the car. Maybe when you drove by the pump. Maybe from websites like GasPriceWatch. However the news gets around, the reality is that gas prices are still climbing.

According to the aforementioned GasPriceWatch, average prices at the pump today are two cents higher than Wednesday. As you can see from the AAA graph to the right, this is a small part of a trend that's been kicking around since late last year, even though crude prices are dropping slightly. The average price is $2.82 today for gasoline. For diesel, its $2.92. Automotive News (subs req'd) says that crude prices may rise because OPEC might limit production. Hey, there's another happy thought (now, where's the font for sarcasm?).

[Source: Natasha Robinson, Automotive News, AAA and GasPriceWatch]