Fuel prices

[John Ziebron]

Here in SE Michigan gas has been in the low $2 range for a few weeks. We have "winter blend" and "summer blend" here and that was always used as a reason (or excuse) to raise prices. Has anyone else noticed that they don't give any kind of reason any more when gas prices go up. I think they figure people are just acclimated to that now.

Diesel always used to be cheaper than gas. Then in late 1993 when they passed a law about diesel emissions the refiners had to supply only low sulfur content fuel. That was the major cause of the increase of diesel fuel.

[Walter Plummer]

$1.99 gal. at Sam's club here.

[John Goodin]

The thing with gas tax paying for roads is that the federal gas tax was last raised in 1993. Road construction and maintenance cost have skyrocketed while more fuel efficient vechiles are on the road. In Texas the state gas tax was last raised in 1991 and 25 percent gets siphoned off for education. The state also has prohibited local entities for leaving a optional gas tax. Indexing the gas tax would be the least painful for politicians but there is not the will to do anything.

[Matt Mattingley]

I’m paying $3.16 a gallon for good old regular. With all things equal.

[Jason Roehl]

I paid $2.019/gallon last week, but then we shot back up a bit, so now the same station is at $2.099.

I heard an interview with a former oil industry executive a few years ago who said that the reason diesel was more expensive than gas was because most of us don't get as upset (and change our behavior) when the cost of our goods goes up a bit due to the higher diesel prices involved in shipping those goods, but we do start changing our vehicular purchases and such when the cost of gas goes up. So the oil companies use the price of diesel to somewhat subsidize the price of gasoline.

[Curt Harms]

For some odd reason gas prices here seem to go up during holiday travel. Maybe it costs more to make it then since the refinery workers are traveling too. Ha.

JKJ

Around here gas prices seem to drop after Labor Day and start to rise again in the spring, peaking around Memorial Day. I haven't really noticed a holiday spike but maybe there is one. I've wondered about the need for a winter/summer blends since the addition of ethanol. Is it needed or is it one of those "We've done it that way for years" things. The switch over is one of those things that the industry blames for seasonal price differences.

[Van Huskey]

$1.939 this morning.

[Mike Henderson]

I haul the no-road-tax ag diesel in a 55-gal drum. A friend gave me a 100 gal tank with an electric pump - that's nice since I have four off-road things here that use diesel.

JKJ

In an ag area that I was familiar with, they dyed the ag diesel a different color. If the cops stopped you they would take a sample of your diesel and it if was the wrong color, you were in trouble.

That color could last through several fill ups of street legal diesel, depending on how empty your tank was when you filled up.

Mike

[Derek Meyer]

I'm in the wrong area of the country for cheap gas. Today it is $3.05/gallon.

Across the Washington border, 8 miles away in Pullman, it is $3.31. Washington has higher gas taxes than Idaho does.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Here price range from $1.83 to $2.49, depending upon which side of town you are on. Same brands. When we go to Savanah for ST Patrick's day, cheapest gas is always in Florence SC. Amazing thing is they truck from Selma NC to Florence (150 miles,) and still sell it a lot cheaper than here in NC. We have a dime more road tax, but difference is a lot more than a dime. Cars get a lot better mileage than they used to. Some where I read that gas consumption in the US peaked in 2007 due to better mileage. More cars being driven more miles, and less gas being used. Ethanol wasn't favor to older cars, with most suffering a 25% loss in mileage. In my 1990 Honda Civic, I was getting 40 mpg, but with ethanol mileage dropped to 32 mpg. So I was burning more gas to make supplies go further. Yeah, right!

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Pricing for fuel are free, but at average, today in Brazil, Sao Paulo metro area:

Gasoline: USD 4.00 per gallon (standard gasoline, unleaded of course)
Ethanol: USD 3.21 per gallon
Diesel: USD 3.60 per gallon

Virtually all private car here is flexible, accepting both ethanol and gasoline, as well any mix of them - but most people run their car on ethanol.

[Darcy Warner]

Fuel oil and diesel, same thing different color. Always drives diesel up at the beginning of winter. I don't really care about the price, I need it, I put it in the truck.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Regular unleaded -
Monday - $1.88 a gallon.
Tuesday - $2.19 a gallon.

Oil company says (dripping with sarcasm) "we only make a few pennies a gallon"....yeah - right - but they can instantly raise the price $.31 a gallon...
Lying sacks of manure...

[Jim Becker]

Rich, it's the stations along the road that only make pennies on the gallon which is why they all now have convenience stores with high-margin impulse items for sale. The oil companies, do indeed, rake it in..

[Malcolm McLeod]

The 'major' oil companies, generally speaking, do not own any retail outlets anymore - even if it has their name on it. ...And don't forget $4/gal gas was just a little while ago.

Regular unleaded -
Monday - $1.88 a gallon.
Tuesday - $2.19 a gallon.

Oil company says (dripping with sarcasm) "we only make a few pennies a gallon"....yeah - right - but they can instantly raise the price $.31 a gallon...
Lying sacks of manure...

Since oil prices are dropping, this sounds very much like a factor other than 'big oil' greed... Maybe the $1.88 was a promo? Maybe a gas war to capture margin? Maybe a new tax kicked in? Maybe lying (by who?, ...he asked curiously)? Sounds like you've already found a narrative that works for you...

Rich, it's the stations along the road that only make pennies on the gallon which is why they all now have convenience stores with high-margin impulse items for sale. The oil companies, do indeed, rake it in..

Rake it in? Check their margins (it's in their published stock reports). What margins do you expect on your sales revenue..??

Odd too, that no one is castigated for charging $1.50 for a soda at these stores?? Last I heard, typical in-store cost was around $0.06-0.08 for a large drink, so figure $1.50 retail equates to ~20X margins.

Grab a bottle of water while you're there, then calculate the price/gallon. ....Oh, and what kind of mileage does your car get on that?

Reminds me of the SawStop threads ... don't like it, don't buy it.