Fuel prices drop again - now under $2 a gallon - a level not seen for some time

The price of a gallon of auto fuel in the United States has dropped to a level not seen in some time. Judging from various charts, studies and figures, the last time fuel was about $2 a gallon appears to have been in the first quarter of 2009.

Fuel prices have generally risen on the whole since then, although there has been some ebb and flow. Even so, prices have remained in the vicinity of $3.40 to $4 from 2011 to a month or so ago.

There are a number of reasons given for fuel prices to have risen and then held more or less steady in the last few years, and there is probably some truth to most of them.

A large amount of the drop of the cost of a barrel of oil has been credited to greater oil production in the U.S. from shale and other means. Regardless of the reasons for the recent drop, the fact that it has happened around the holiday season has been a boon for Americans who might have wanted to do some Christmas shopping or traveling.

The drop of a barrel of crude oil from about $115 in June to less than $60 a barrel has, according to a variety of sources, boosted the U.S., while causing panic in the economies of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and more.

It is hard to say what the overall effect of the lower oil prices will eventually be, but in the meantime, the cars get better mileage and the cost of the fuel is dropping. This leaves an average American with a little extra money. Hopefully, it will be used wisely.