Business briefing: Gas prices drop with crude oil demand

The price at the pump has been dropping recently along with demand for crude oil.

Many metro-east gas stations are seeing prices around $2.76 a gallon for regular unleaded gas, and in some places as low as $2.59, after selling for the past few weeks at about $2.99. Online gas price tracker GasBuddy.com cites the price of crude oil at about $50 a barrel.

***

A recent survey by mutual fund company T. Rowe Price finds more than a quarter of those aged 18 to 33 believe contributing to a 401(k) plan at work as their most important goal, while 28 percent said paying down debt was a priority. Read more here.

***

Morgan Stanley has reported a 9 percent drop in the second-quarter. The investment bank and asset management firm’s earnings are down by $150 million while its total net revenue increased from $8.6 billion to $9.7 billion. Find out more here.

***

The slow sales growth recorded during the second quarter has left retailers less optimistic about the immediate future. The National Association for Business Economics has found that 59 percent of businesses expect their sales to grow in the next three months. That is down from the 71 percent who forecast sales growth three months ago. Learn more here.

-Will Buss, BND business writer

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Business briefing: Gas prices drop with crude oil demand."