Gas prices are getting a little more stable, and to consumers it looks like a good time to buy that truck or SUV. Sales of new autos up to an 8-month high in October, slightly over 13.2 million vehicles.

A big factor was sales of pick-up trucks at GM, Ford & Chrysler. Also SUV’s and cross-overs.

“There are a growing number of consumers for whom a new vehicle is becoming a necessity,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.com, an auto research Web site.

In 2007, the average age of our rides was 9.8 years. Now it’s up to 10.7 years.

btw the Chevy Volt, plug-in electric hybrid is hosing the competition, the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

We paid more for food and gas last month, but price rises in everything else were tame.

Gas up 2.9%. Food up .4%. But we can stay warm – clothing prices fell.

A small amount of inflation is good for the economy. It encourages businesses and consumers to spend and invest money sooner rather than later, before inflation erodes its value.

Of course unemployment has been in the neighborhood of 9% for a couple of years, which cuts down on discretionary spending.

Good news for seniors, though. Social Security benefits will finally get the first cost of living increase since 2009.

Increase in gas prices drove up wholesale prices in Sept. by the most in 5 mo. Economists say it was mostly s seasonal quirk, and it’s not really as bad as it looks.

BUT -energy prices up, wholesale gas prices up, food prices up big-time.

Other views:

Neil Dutta, an economist at Bank of America, attributed much of the gain in energy prices to one-time factors.

“Is this a harbinger of broad-based inflation that is about to hit the U.S. consumer?” he asked. “Don’t count it.”

and:

The core index has risen 2.5 percent in the twelve months that ended in September, the same as the previous month.

“Inflation is not wildly out of control but it certainly isn’t as tame as would be expected during this stage,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The price of oil fell 52 cents to $86.28 in Monday’s trading. Gas prices at the pump averaged $3.46/gal. on Monday.

That’s the word from Wright Express (via Automotive Fleet).

In a new report from Wright Express (WEX), the company said fuel prices are as low as they’re going to get and are likely to rise in the coming weeks. The company said experts believe that despite current economic woes and reduced demand, fuel prices will remain strong for the rest of the year.

Retail gasoline prices dropped more than 25 cents during the month of September, but WEX said some experts believe prices have hit bottom. Last week, wholesale gasoline prices were at $2.50-$2.70 per gallon, but the week ended with some markets back above $3.00 per gallon.

We have been watching the wholesale market closely, and we can see the apparent firming of prices. Check out the CME chart of wholesale gasoline futures.

Could not resist this article’s catchy title ‘The Man on the
Street: Less Time on the Street, More Time in the House.’ Sure makes sense to me!

The facts: Gas consumption is down 30% from 2007. More energy efficient, right?
Residential electricity sales in 2010 highest on record.

The writer’s take on this (put your own thinking cap on for a minute):

With gasoline prices high, the economy weak and Americans driving less, they aren’t spending as many discretionary dollars at the shopping mall or for recreation and entertainment. So, they must be staying at home more. They are cooking at home more. They are watching more TV — on the big screen LCD units they bought during the past several years. They are surfing the Internet, tweeting and chatting on Facebook.

Gotta say, that’s what I do.