Numbers out today show gas prices lower for the seventh week in a row, down another penny a gallon. But the really dramatic drop is in the price of oil, which plunged almost $6 a barrel today. Oil is now at a five month low, down 25% from its all-time high in July. Why is it dropping so fast? Here’s David Muir.
It was just last May, a Goldman Sachs economist made a bold prediction: oil would reach $200 a barrel, a super-spike. Morgan Stanley followed suit forecasting at least $150 a barrel. “I can’t actually think of anybody that didn’t get on that bandwagon.”
So what explains the price today? It’s not just that Gustav did less damage in the Gulf than feared. It’s that demand in the U.S. is down dramatically. Drivers, it seems, finally reached their limit. “The question became, what price do you have to, uh, have to actually get someone in the U.S. to drive less? $3.50 to $4 began to make a big difference.”
Americans drove 53.2 billion miles less than they did over the same period last year. And overseas demand is down too, even in rapidly growing India and China where their economies are feeling the effect of the slowdown worldwide. There’s also the stronger dollar. Fewer investors are buying oil against it.
So with the average price of a gallon of gas now at $3.68 after topping $4 earlier this summer, some economists expect it will soften even more. Will Americans who changed their habits now change back? “I’m happy to see the prices go down, um, as anyone would be, but I’m not going to get too happy too soon.”
Which might be a wise choice because the same economists who once predicted $150-$200 a barrel say the price of oil could easily go up again if the oil-producing countries decide to put out less. After all, they’re the ones who don’t want to see it back down to $100 a barrel. David Muir, ABC News, New York.
in a row : 잇따라, 연속적으로 ex. arrange chairs in a row[two rows] : 의자를 한 [두] 줄로 늘어놓다 penny : = cent, [보통 부정문에서] 푼돈, 아주 조금 ex. not worth a penny 한 푼의 가치 도 없다 plunge : ~ 을 처넣다, ~ 을 빠뜨리다, 뛰어들다, 빠지다, 급락하 다, 뛰어들기, 돌진, 급락 * plunge one's hand into hot water 손을 뜨거운 물에 처넣다 / * plunge into a river 강에 뛰어들다. * take the plunge : (수영장 등에) 뛰어들다, 과감히 하다, 결혼하다 / to finally do something important, difficult, or dangerous after thinking about it ex. He finally decided to take the plunge and will get married next year. low : 낮은 것, 최저 수준 [기록, 숫자], 최저 가격 (opp. high : 최 고 수준, 최고 기록) * a record high[low] 사상 최고치 [최저치] (= an all-time high [low]) * a 46-year high[low] : 46 년만의 최고치 [최저치] * an all-time high [low] of~ = a record high [low] of~ ex. The teen pregnancy rate fell 19 percent from its high in 1991 to a record low of 94.3 pregnancies per 1000 women ages 15-19 in 1997. spike : 대못, (경기용 구둣바닥의) 스파이크, (배 구) 스파이크, (그래프 등에서) 산 모양으로 꺾어 올라간 부분, 급격한 상 승, 급격히 상승하다 / any sudden increase / to rise quickly ex. a spike in the oil price / ex. Their stock prices spiked on news of the merger. follow suit : 선례를 따르다 / to do the same thing as someone else ex. When one airline reduces its prices, the rest soon follow suit. bandwagon : 악대차(車), 시류(current trend), (선거 운동·경쟁 등에서) 우세한 쪽 * climb[get, hop, jump] on the bandwagon 시류에 편승하다, 우세한 쪽에 붙다 ex. Every business was trying to jump on the "dot-com" bandwagon. make a difference : 차이를 낳다, 영향을 미 치다, 중요하다 /to have an important effect on something, especially a good effect ex. make a difference to: This scheme will certainly make a difference to the way I do my job. ex. make a big/a great deal of/a lot of difference: The fact that I can now organize my own time makes a big difference. ex. make all the difference (to someone): Having someone to talk to made all the difference to my mother. * make no/little difference : to not be important or not have any effect ex. The news made little difference to his plans. slowdown : 감속, 경제 둔화, 경기 둔화 * slow down : 속력을 늦추다, 속력이 떨어지다, (경제가) 둔화되다 against :~와 교환으로 (in exchange for or in return for) ex. The dollar has gained very slightly against the yen 달러가치가 엔화대 비 약간 올랐다. ex. What’s the won’s current exchange against the U.S. dollars? 달러당 원화의 현재 환율은 어떻게 됩니까? top : 1. ~의 꼭대기[정상]에 있다, ~의 수위를 차지하 다 2. <수량·기록 등을> 넘다, 상회하다 3. [often passive] to cover something with a layer of something else ex. He tops his English class. 그는 영어반에서 수석을 차지하고 있 다. ex. The costs for the project may top $ 30 million. * top something with something: ex. pizza topped with pepperoni 페파로니 를 얹은 피자 soften : 부드럽게[연하게] 하다, 온화하게 하 다, <물가·요구 등을> 억제하다, 낮게 하다, 부드러워지다 put out : 1. 불을 끄다(=extinguish) 2. 발표하 다 3. to put something in a place where someone will see it, so that they can use it or have it 4. 생산하다, 산출하다 ex. The police has put out a warning about an escaped prisoner. / ex. The band put out a statement denying rumors of a split. ex. The clerk at the store put out new candies. / ex. I put out food for the birds in cold weather. * put up : to raise something, especially so that it is ready to use ex. I was soaked before I could put my umbrella up. ex. She is putting her house up for sale. 그녀는 집을 팔려고 내놓았 다. ex. I think I will have to put the house up for auction.그 집을 경매에 부쳐 야 할 것 같다.