Your weekend fill-up: Prices edge a nickel lower

A break this weekendYou might save yourself a buck this weekend when you fill up the tank.

Prices for unleaded self-service are five to six cents lower compared to last weekend, according to AAA. So, with a 20-gallon fill-up, presto, buy yourself a can of Diet Coke.

On the Kansas side, the average price for regular was $2.59, down from $2.65 last weekend.

In Missouri, the average price was $2.50, down about 6 cents from last weekend.

Of course, check for better prices by clicking here.

Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up $2.19 to settle at $77.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery shed $2.12 to settle at $75.87 on the ICE Futures exchange.

America’s thirst for petroleum has slumped all year. With nearly 16 million people now out of work, traders found few reasons to expect it will return anytime soon. Crude prices shed most of their gains from earlier in the week, when financial reports showed consumers were spending more, and companies were squeezing more productivity out of their workers.

Prices slumped even after weather forecasters said tropical storms would sweep through the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, likely disrupting oil production.

“There’s some shock value that comes with double-digit unemployment,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with PFGBest. “It’s worse than expected. If the job market isn’t strong, then the economy isn’t strong.”

For most of the year, oil prices shrugged off growing unemployment and steadily climbed above $80 a barrel as investors bet that American energy demand would return with an economic recovery. The weak U.S. dollar also pushed oil higher since crude contracts are priced in dollars, and a drop in U.S. currency gives investors with foreign money more buying power.