I KNEW it

See, I've been saying that deflation in the oil and gas department has everything to do with the economic slowdown and its effects directly on China and India. At last, the New York Times offers some corroboration. When Americans and Europeans no longer desire (or can afford) the largely cheap luxury goods (in the sense that we don't NEED them) that are produced in China and India, they close factories, transportation (read: export) dwindles, and global demand for fuel falls.

This is the ONLY explanation I can come up with to explain why I was able to purchase gas for $1.86 the other day.