Gas prices are coming down

There are predictions that oil prices could fall sharply to around $50 per barrel, with those coming from analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Grand Rapids-based GasBuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan says he thinks they might be right for a few reasons: Domestic oil production is hitting highs unlike any seen in two decades and crude oil inventories are about 11-percent ahead of last year. DeHaan cautions against thinking such a sharp drop will result in a quick decline in oil prices, noting they’re linked but there are other factors involved. He’s amused by others like analyst Trilby Lundberg calling the current decline in the national average a “gas price crash.” DeHaan calls 2008 a gas price crash when prices went from four-dollars a gallon to $1.60. Oil prices on Thursday were down about $1, trading at $86 per barrel. GasBuddy pegs the average price in Michigan at $3.32, with the lowest in the Flint area at $2.98 and the highest in West Branch at $3.89. (MRN)