Gas

[lrjohnson]

Re: Gas

I'm in CA, just paid $3.149 at our by far cheapest place, CostCo. We are in an area where prices are generally higher than other places-we'd laugh because the news would say something like, it's 2.75 at the highest place in the country when we were paying $2.89. This is the first time I haven't filled up, but I think that's more my challenge than the price-otherwise I would have taken the $30 hit.

[abowers]

Re: Gas

the place that is usually cheapest around here in central NJ is now up to $2.75, it was in the mid 2.60's last weekend. this is for regular. premium is currently 2.95 at the same place. My parents said it was around $2.90 for regular in Rochester NY last weekend.

[NoWayNovember]

Re: Gas

It just hit $2.79 here! It makes me so angry. I am definitely going to need to get creative with my budget.

[kichu]

Re: Gas

Priceplus, are you sure there is a place in NY with $4.5/ gallon? I would like to get more info on that because nobody beleived it when I told my classmates that I read it over on the net.
Thanks

[Bruce Wayne]

Re: Gas

Always makes me laugh whenever I hear Americans complaining about the price of petrol. You will cope. We have petrol prices here in Britain of around $6.50 per gallon. Think yourselves lucky that you've had such cheap fuel for so long and remind yourselves that having such cheap fuel for so long as contributed a large amount to the global fuel shortage.

[Bluezy]

Re: Gas

I still am thrilled that even at $3+, it's better than what I paid in Scotland. South Africa was not far behind both before and after apartheid affected petrol prices. I cannot tell you the countless amount of £'s I had spent in petrol through the years.

[lrjohnson]

Re: Gas

Bruce-I'm with you. My dad really belives that we should be paying double for gas, to really be paying what it costs, in all aspects. There would be suffereing in the short term, but perhaps in the long term we'd have much better publci transportation and much less sprawl. In my twon it's pretty much only the down and out that take the (limited) public trasnportation. Not at all like Europe. San Francisco's the closest I've seen to really doable public transportation. If gas went way up I could actually drive very little-I could walk to work, and use the car maybe once a month for a big grocery run, and maybe once a month for an out in the woods outing.

[veronak]

Re: Gas

Thanks Bruce for reminding us that it could be more. Wow $6.50 OMG

[VJW]

Re: Gas

Well guys I must say this is crazy, I am so upset I can not figure out why prices are up

Prices are up because the oil companies are price-gouging so they can make record profits:

INTERNAL MEMOS SHOW OIL COMPANIES INTENTIONALLY LIMITED REFINING CAPACITY TO DRIVE UP GASOLINE PRICES

LINK

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[VJW]

Re: Gas

Always makes me laugh whenever I hear Americans complaining about the price of petrol. You will cope. We have petrol prices here in Britain of around $6.50 per gallon.

Bruce,

It's not an apt comparison. Europe has a different mix of taxation than America does, with most tax systems being much more progressive overall. It's easier to pay higher prices for fuel when one's income is being taxed more progressively. Not to mention that the higher prices for fuel in Europe are also used to incentivize the mass transit systems, which America does not have.

Lastly, I could make the comparison that gasoline in Venezuela is only twelve cents a gallon at the pump.

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[nixuzer]

Re: Gas

If the price per barrel of oil is going up wouldn't that require that the gas manufacturers raise their prices to make up that shortcoming?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/4tab.html

http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Oil/Historical_Oil_Prices_Chart.htm

OPEC & Costs

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=31089

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=31500

Estimate Gasoline Price Breakdown (California)

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/index.html

[VJW]

Re: Gas

But that doesn’t account for the massive increase in profits. As the price of the underlying crude rose in price, if their margins remained the same, the price of gas would have risen, but their profits would have remained the same. They haven't.

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[abowers]

Re: Gas

gas prices are up right now because of a change in what is allowed in gasoline -- it used to be MTBE (an octance enhancer) but there have been concerns about it leaking into ground water, etc. It is now banned, and Ethanol must be used. They need to totally clean out the gas lines in changing over -- which has caused a slight increase.

Don't forget all the hype media likes to add to the possibility of rising gas costs, which doesn't help keep prices down. Everyone freaks out, gas prices go up, and people continue to pay the the higher prices.

[abowers]

Re: Gas

Some links about MTBE/Ethanol:

http://www.ethanol.org/EthanolandMTBE.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/mar2006/bw20060329_074307.htm?chan=autos_autos+index+page_news

From the Article in the 2nd Link: PAY THE PRICE. Why the sudden shift to ethanol now? MTBE is downright dirty on the ground. If it seeps into groundwater, it will make it undrinkable, and there are concerns that it may be a carcinogen. Refiners are a step ahead of regulars now and are cutting back on MTBE because of potential legal liabilities. MTBE-related lawsuits are already pending (see BW Online, 3/16/06, "A New Spike at the Pump?").

According to industry observers, any ethanol price spikes will more likely stem from an inability to move it rather than an outright shortage. Unlike MTBE-infused gasoline, ethanol can corrode pipelines and therefore must be added to the gas late in the supply chain. Without pipelines available, the ethanol must travel by barge, train, or truck.

[VJW]

Re: Gas

That’s just another lame excuse by the oil companies. Been there, done that.

Back during the Summer of 2000, there was a huge spike in gasoline prices. The oil companies said it was due to “shortages of reformulated gasoline", "refineries closed down for maintenance", “increased demand”, and other bogus excuses.

A year-long investigation by the Federal Trade Commission concluded that the 2000 Summer's spike in gasoline prices was caused by refiners, who INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD GASOLINE FROM THE MARKET TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS. This report was presented to the current administration, which did nothing.

Now we have internal memos showing they’ve been doing the very same thing again since Katrina.

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