There’s one holiday that I never look forward to, and for only one reason…

Each year, I make the inevitable sojourn from the streets of Baltimore to Pennsylvania.

And every year, the tiny corridor we know as Interstate 95 becomes the source of persistent frustration.

What is typically a two-hour trip degrades into a five-hour bumper-to-bumper jam up to 65 miles long. It’s not from some accident that needs to be cleared… There are simply too many cars with the same direction in mind.

Last year, I thought I’d outsmarted the rest. I started my journey long before the sun broke the horizon. To my dismay, the idea backfired when too many other people had similar plans…

Still, we make these trips with a light at the end of the tunnel: friends and family, and perhaps a few fireworks in between.

Gasoline Prices Heading Lower

So are things aiming to get better or worse from here on out?

The Energy Information Administration reported a 1.4 million barrel drop in total gasoline stocks — nearly five million barrels lower than a year ago — in its weekly petroleum data.

As you can also see below, gasoline demand is slightly more than 200,000 barrels less than the same time last year.

Prices at the pump are a different story.

Heading into the Fourth of July weekend, the average retail price for gasoline across the U.S. is approximately $3.57 per gallon. Last year, a gallon of gas averaged Americans only $2.75 per gallon — 30% lower than this holiday weekend’s fill-up.

OPEC Threats and Cheaper Gas

Not all families will be spending the weekend in the backyard around a grill, enjoying each others’ company…

The rift in OPEC has been visible for years. The price hawks like Iran and Venezuela are constantly bickering with the Saudis over production quotas (not that either one of the sides adhere to the agreed upon output quotas).

And the IEA dropped a bombshell on OPEC members when it announced the release of 60 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserves of various countries (the United States alone is anteing up 50% of the total).

Their response was predictable.

This week, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri was quick to warn the IEA this maneuver shouldn’t become a habit.

Of course, it also raises the question of whether or not OPEC now has the opportunity to cut output during its next meeting…

If OPEC does lower production, they certainly won’t say it’s retaliation for the 60 million barrels of oil the IEA released into the market. The oil cartel already hinted at a production cut on Friday morning, saying Asian demand is decreasing.

Enjoy your holiday,

Keith Kohl
Editor