Lebanon
Few ventured any commentary on what current oil prices might say about the broader U.S. economy and our relations with oil-producing nations, but most expressed frustration with the amount of money coming out of their pockets for daily necessities such as gas and heat.
“There’s no need for prices to be so high,” said Walter George, an Enfield resident who stopped into the bustling store for some candy yesterday. “I attribute it to greed.”
Unleaded gas was selling for $2.64 per gallon at Maplefields’ Sunoco station on Sunday, down about 20 cents per gallon from its price one month ago, said Robert Hook, a clerk at the station. Nationwide, gas prices reached a nearly four-year peak of $2.91 per gallon in June before tapering off slightly in September and October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the past few weeks, prices have been dropping to the lowest they’ve been all year, but they’re still a few cents higher than they were last Thanksgiving weekend.
George, wearing an NRA belt buckle, said the dropping prices haven’t made a significant impact on his wallet, and he doesn’t see them as anything more than a normal fluctuation. He’s more concerned about the price he’ll be paying for kerosene to heat his home this winter.
The cost of kerosene has increased from $3.03 in November 2017 to $3.45 in Vermont this month, according to the state Department of Public Service.
Diesel heating fuel has increased from $2.91 last November to $3.32 this November.
To offset the cost, George, who is retired, plans to keep his pellet stove running through the coldest months.
For Susan and Troy Traegde, of Enfield, a woodstove helps take the sting out of rising heat costs. They heat with propane, which has risen by about 20 cents per gallon from its price at this time last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“(The woodstove) totally cuts the cost in half, thank God,” said Susan Traegde.
The Traegdes were running errands in town in their Dodge Ram pickup, which gets about 16 miles per gallon. Susan Traegde, who commutes about 27 miles each way to her job at Kendal at Hanover, drives the Ram to work during the winter months.
She said she hasn’t yet noticed a meaningful change in her fuel costs. Nor has she given much thought to the causes or consequences of changes in oil prices over the short and long term.
Financial experts say that a softening global economy may be to blame for the recent decrease in oil prices. President Trump has a different take.
“So great that oil prices are falling (thank you President T),” Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday morning.
Earlier this month, he thanked Saudi Arabia, the United States’ second largest supplier of crude oil, for the drop in prices, shortly after excusing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman from further scrutiny or disciplinary action in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Susan Traegde said it’s difficult for regular Americans to know who and what to believe when it comes to foreign relations and economic decisions.
“I just know they’re all getting rich and we aren’t,” Troy Traegde added.
Ken May, fueling up his Mitsubishi Outlander before returning home to Enfield from a family trip to South Carolina, said he hadn’t spent much of his road trip pondering Saudi relations or the global economy. He’s not worried that the falling gas prices — he paid $2.08 per gallon in South Carolina — may portend an economic downturn.
“The economy ebbs and flows,” he shrugged.
May’s wife, Penny, who manages the family budget, says she’s a bit concerned about the rise in propane costs. It’s too soon to tell how hard their budget will be hit — partly because no one can predict the weather — but this month she paid about $75-$100 more than her monthly average last year. She’s not sure which column of the budget she’ll squeeze that money from if prices stay high.
Martha Rigby, who pre-bought her propane at $225 per month this year, a $45 increase over her monthly cost last year, also wonders how she’ll offset the cost.
“Maybe I’ll go out less … or Christmas gifts won’t be so good,” said Rigby, a retired teacher and chiropractor who lives in Lebanon.
Gas prices are less of an issue for Rigby, who drives a Prius and doesn’t put on a lot of miles.
Sue Bridgeo, a Norwich artist who was sharing coffee and bakery treats with Rigby at a table in the corner of the store, said she keeps an eye on gas prices because they’re one of the few expenses she has a bit of control over. “I pay attention to finding the least expensive gas,” she said.
But the women agreed that oil prices don’t signify much.
“It won’t matter what our relationship with Saudi Arabia is if we keep degrading the planet,” Rigby said.
Likewise, the health of the economy as a whole seems disconnected from the lives of regular people, Bridgeo said. Wages simply aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, especially in this area, she said.
“The economy may be doing wonderful, but the people aren’t,” she said.
Overall, customers haven’t had much to say about the falling prices, said Hook, who likes to chat with people as they come in for sandwiches and snacks, cigarettes and coffee. A few years ago, when he was commuting 100 miles to work a weekend shift at the store, he worried a lot about gas prices, he said. Now that he lives just seven miles away, he doesn’t notice the price much himself.
Sarah Earle can be reached at searle@vnews.com and 603-727-3268.