In case anyone hasn't noticed, the price of gas (or "petrol" for the Americanly challenged) has been dropping like a brick as of late. So what are your thoughts on this?

Gas at a nearby station, which I pass by all the time, is $1.76 for regular right now, and while normally at this time of the year, prices start to climb due to the impending travel season, all I've seen is the downward trend slow down. I think at this rate it'll be under $1.50 by the end of the year.

So there are alot of theories out there as to what's causing it. Probably the main one is the sucky economy. Everyone who I've heard say something about it has basically said that as soon as the economy gets better prices will shoot back up. I personally think there are some other explanations:
-The skyrocketing gas prices were due to a speculative bubble, and now that the bubble has bursted, they've fallen back to where they belong.
-The Middle East has been trying to influence American politics through gas prices, and now that they've succeeded (or at least think they did), they're letting off the pressure.
-The oil companies have been raising their prices to pressure Bush into lifting the offshore drilling ban, now that he's done it, they're letting of the pressure.

So yeah, those are all assuming that this isn't a temporary thing, so they could just be wishful thinking.