{"id":47440,"date":"2014-02-13T05:35:20","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T10:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/forex-news\/?p=47440"},"modified":"2014-02-13T05:35:20","modified_gmt":"2014-02-13T10:35:20","slug":"a-forewarning-gasoline-prices-crash-in-tiny-illinois-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2014\/02\/13\/a-forewarning-gasoline-prices-crash-in-tiny-illinois-town\/","title":{"rendered":"A Forewarning? Gasoline Prices Crash in Tiny Illinois Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> \"A<\/p>\n

Last weekend, motorists in Illinois got the bargain of a lifetime when a computer glitch caused an impromptu sale on unleaded plus fuel for one penny per gallon.<\/p>\n

Instead of paying about $40 to fill up a 12-gallon tank, they only had to fork over $0.13.<\/p>\n

Naturally, word spread quickly. Cars piled up. And somebody called the cops to shut it all down (party poopers).<\/p>\n

While this situation was an anomaly, the mad dash for cheap gas points to a broader issue facing consumers – and investors…<\/p>\n

Lost in the Shuffle<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

In the midst of an emerging markets selloff<\/a>, high-profile social media<\/a> earnings reports and activist squabbles with Apple<\/strong> (AAPL<\/a>), no one seems to be paying attention to the steady climb in oil prices.<\/p>\n

They’re back above $100 per barrel again.<\/p>\n

As we all know, where oil prices go, gasoline prices follow. And sure enough, since early November 2013, the national average price of gasoline has been creeping higher, too.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

While the current price per gallon is still about 10% below last year’s levels, cash-strapped consumers can ill afford any more increases.<\/p>\n

Want irrefutable proof? Look no further than the latest comments from Family Dollar Stores, Inc. <\/strong>(FDO<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The discount retailer concedes that even its bargain-priced goods are too expensive for low-income shoppers, which make up more than 50% of its customer base.<\/p>\n

When the cheap stores aren’t, well… cheap anymore, we’ve got a problem.<\/p>\n

The prospect of higher prices at the pump isn’t the only factor that promises to weigh on consumer spending in the months ahead, however…<\/p>\n

A Perfect Storm of Negative Influences<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

For nearly two months now, we’ve been dealing with bone-chilling temperatures. Even typically warmer locales can’t escape the polar vortex.<\/p>\n

For example, Reliant Energy, which supplies power to 1.5 million people in Dallas and Houston, says its customers have been forced to turn up the heat 40% to 50% more than last winter.<\/p>\n

All told, the Energy Information Administration estimates that average heating bills will climb 17% to 23.5% this winter.<\/p>\n

In turn, industry experts estimate that the rising costs will put a 6% drag on consumer spending.<\/p>\n

I’m convinced those calculations are actually too conservative.<\/p>\n

Either way, we’re talking about soaring utility bills adding to the burden on consumers.<\/p>\n

But that’s not all…<\/p>\n

The Number One Culprit<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

Get ready to blame the weather again<\/em> for increased costs.<\/p>\n

You see, once Old Man Winter goes away, we’re in for a hot and dry third quarter, according to Weather Trends International (WTI).<\/p>\n

In case you didn’t know, California is experiencing a nasty drought right now. So more dry weather promises to exacerbate the situation.<\/p>\n

The end result? “Limited water supplies for the start of growing season will likely limit crop production and therefore drive up prices for key food commodities,” according to WTI’s analysts.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Consumers are facing a triple whammy of cost increases for gasoline, heating bills and food.<\/p>\n

That bodes terribly for consumer discretionary companies, especially those focused on low-income households and customers with fixed budgets – like Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Inc.<\/strong> (DLTR<\/a>), or even Wal-Mart<\/strong> (WMT<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Ahead of the tape,<\/p>\n

Louis Basenese<\/p>\n

The post A Forewarning? Gasoline Prices Crash in Tiny Illinois Town<\/a> appeared first on Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Article By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Original Article: A Forewarning? Gasoline Prices Crash in Tiny Illinois Town<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com Last weekend, motorists in Illinois got the bargain of a lifetime when a computer glitch caused an impromptu sale on unleaded plus fuel for one penny per gallon. Instead of paying about $40 to fill up a 12-gallon tank, they only had to fork over $0.13. Naturally, word spread quickly. Cars piled up. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “A Forewarning? Gasoline Prices Crash in Tiny Illinois Town”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}