The Washington Post reports that “American drivers haven’t enjoyed prices this low, for this long, in at least five years. By most economic thinking, that should be a big boost to the economy, because when they’re paying less at the pump, consumers have more cash to spend elsewhere.”  

“For much of this year, though, economic data suggested that boost wasn’t as big as you’d expect. Americans reported they were taking the money they would have been spending on gas and saving it, or paying down debt. Economists speculated that consumers weren’t convinced low prices were here to stay, so they were reluctant to spend the windfall.”