Gas Prices Expected to ... Drop

It looks like gas prices will start heading down for once. Both AP and the New York Times quote experts saying the price has probably peaked and will begin ticking downward from the national average of just under $4. Skeptics can look to oil prices, which dropped below $100 a barrel on Thursday and have fallen 12% in four days. Part of the reason: Traders are worried that Americans are driving less and putting a crimp in demand for crude.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we dropped to about $3.50 by the middle of June," one industry analyst tells AP. “The driver can expect to see a slow erosion of price," another tells the Times. “My expectation is what people pay this week will be the highest they pay for 90 days.” The Wall Street Journal has more details on the day's turmoil in the commodities markets and underlying fears about the global economic recovery. (More crude oil stories.)