Signs of Gasoline Price Drop May Thwart Case Against Obama

Bloomberg News By Jim Snyder on April 10, 2012 Companies Mentioned

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Signs that gasoline prices may have peaked signal relief to both American drivers and President Barack Obama, who Republicans have tried to tie to a climb in the costs.

Average prices at the pump have hovered at $3.92 a gallon this month, after an almost uninterrupted rise since mid- January. Some analysts now believe they’ll start to recede, as oil fell to an eight-week trading low on forecasts U.S. supplies would rise to their highest level for this time of year.
That may be good news for Obama, because gasoline costs had risen to among the top concerns for Americans and voters tend to blame incumbents for their economic anxieties, says Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University professor who has studied energy and politics.