Here's an analyst predicting something closer to $2 per gallon gasoline
by Thanksgiving. (Prior to an increase again next spring).

This old cynic thinks he's about two weeks off cycle. The price of
refined fuel will bottom out
a bit earlier than Thanksgiving......say around election day or so.
:-)

Aug. 29) - Gasoline prices are falling fast and could keep dropping for
months. "The only place they have to go is down," says Fred Rozell,
gasoline analyst at the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). "We'll be
closer to $2 than $3 come Thanksgiving."

Travel organization AAA foresees prices 10 cents a gallon lower by the
end of next week. It reported a nationwide average of $2.84 Tuesday,
the lowest since April 20.

It's good news for consumers and the economy. Continued lower prices
"may act like a tax cut" and stimulate spending, says Richard DeKaser,
chief economist at National City in Cleveland. He calculates that
higher energy prices the first six months cut growth of consumer
spending 1 percentage point.

The U.S. average for a gallon of regular peaked this year at $3.036
Aug. 10, according to OPIS/AAA daily surveys. That's slightly under the
high of $3.057 Sept. 5, a week after Hurricane Katrina battered
petroleum production in the Gulf of Mexico and caused fears of fuel
shortages.

OPIS' Rozell figures prices will jump again next spring.