Local Gas Prices

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:25 pm

Horray!!!

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:31 am

A little more perspective, from a CNN.com piece titled - I'm sure not the least bit sarcastically - "Oil: How low can it go?"

Still, even though crude prices have slipped more than 25% since hitting a record high in mid-July and the average price of a gallon of gasoline has fallen more than 10%, it's not yet a huge cause of celebration.

After all, at about $108 a barrel, the price of oil is around 50% higher than it was a year ago. Gasoline is higher by a third at $3.68 a gallon.

"It's easy to lose sight of the fact that six months ago we would have considered these prices exorbitantly high. We've got a ways to go before consumers feel much relief," said David Resler, chief economist Nomura Securities International Inc.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:40 am

FROM CNN article today

Light sweet crude for October delivery was down $2.11 to $105.78.

Drove past gas station this morning...... $3.53 down 4 cents in several days

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:30 pm

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/10/news/ec ... tm?cnn=yes

CNN.com wrote:Study blames speculation for oil's rise
Investors put $60B into oil futures during the first five months of the year as prices jumped as high as $145 by July, since then withdrew $39B.

Speculation by large investors -- and not supply and demand for oil -- were a primary reason for the surge in oil prices during the first half of the year and the more recent price declines, an independent study concluded Wednesday.

The report by Masters Capital Management said investors poured $60 billion into oil futures markets during the first five months of the year as oil prices soared from $95 a barrel in January to $145 a barrel by July.

Since then, these investors have withdrawn $39 billion from those markets as prices have retreated dramatically, the report said. Oil traded at just under $1.02 a barrel Wednesday (edit: I'm sure they meant $102/barrel, not $1.02) on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"We have clear evidence the fund flow pushed prices up and the fund flow pushed prices down," said Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management, calling the amount of money moving into oil futures markets by large institutional investors in the early part of the year "way off the scale."

So, it only takes an influx of $60 billion to cause a +50% increase in the cost of a barrel of oil.

Hmmmm... what companies have access to that kind of cash and would also benefit from a 50% increase in the cost of oil? Someone help me out. I'm totally at a loss.

No conspiracy my left ball.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., a sponsor of an anti-speculation bill, said the Masters report challenges CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) claims to date that supply and demand forces - and not excessive speculation - has driven up oil prices.

http://www.cftc.gov/aboutthecftc/index.htm

Congress created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 1974 as an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States.

http://www.cftc.gov/aboutthecftc/commis ... /index.htm

The Commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve staggered five-year terms.

So, to sum it up:

The above report (from CNN) directly contradicts the report issued by the Commission headed by individuals all appointed by the current President with a Republican controlled Senate.

You could knock me over with a |expletive| feather right now.

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:43 pm

From weather.com's Ike updates.....

The wholesale price for gasoline produced on the Gulf Coast jumped about 30 percent this morning. The wholesale price for a gallon of gasoline rose about $1 to $4.25 Thursday morning, topping the high price five years ago when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita raked the Gulf Coast. Texas is home to 26 refineries that account for one-fourth of U.S. refining capacity.

--

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:46 pm

And I'm sure this directly reflects a proportionate surge in the price of crude oil, right?

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:37 am

It's just fear-mongering that the major refineries in the Houston-Galveston area could be without power for up to a week after Ike. Which, if it happens, will be a major disruption in the supply of gasoline.

The good news is that once the plants are back up and running prices should fall even below what they were earlier this week as crude continues to fall in price.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:21 am

Hmmm.... Oil goes below $96 (still crazy high historically) and gas goes up after no major supply interruptions due to Ike.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:49 am

Big E wrote:Hmmm.... Oil goes below $96 (still crazy high historically) and gas goes up after no major supply interruptions due to Ike.

???

. . . Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J., said supply shortages caused by Ike and Hurricane Gustav three weeks ago should last at least another two weeks.

"That means we're looking at close to $4 a gallon for the rest of September," Kloza said. "People are going to observe more of this disconnect where retail prices move higher even though crude oil is trading below $100 a barrel." . . .

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:32 pm

icejammer wrote:???

I was pointing out yet another example of how the price of gas is not inextricably tied to the price of crude like everyone wants us to think.

Ergo, someone somewhere is |expletive| someone.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:38 pm

Big E wrote:
icejammer wrote:???
I was pointing out yet another example of how the price of gas is not inextricably tied to the price of crude like everyone wants us to think.

Ergo, someone somewhere is |expletive| someone.

Well, there's a pretty good (not perfect) correlation between the two, wouldn't you agree? As we've seen in the past, you can have all the crude you want, but if you can't get it through the refineries, you're going to have a shortage, which shoots prices up, especially given the inelasticity in demand for gas.

And the dollar has been going back up slightly, which also helps lower the price of crude on the world market.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 1:34 pm

I absolutely agree that there is a correlation between the two. Historically and in broad terms it does and will continue to do so - as your chart more or less points out (although I'd like to see one that comes up to 2008). I've never argued against that.

My entire point is that we should not see the daily/weekly surges or dips in the price of oil cause the same jumps and dips (as if there are ever price dips) in gas. And when we DO see them, why do we only see them on the way up?

Furthermore, if there's a short term supply interruption in the south/southeast due to the hurricane, why is the midwest seeing a jump in gas prices when the price of oil is dropping?

Again: someone somewhere is |expletive| someone.

Post by **Brad** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 1:42 pm

They need to add a third line that shows inflation as compared to those two....

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:30 pm

Brad wrote:They need to add a third line that shows inflation as compared to those two....

And a fourth line that shows oil company profits, as well.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:22 pm

Brad wrote:They need to add a third line that shows inflation as compared to those two....

fyi - the lines on the chart are for inflation-adjusted prices

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:23 pm

Big E wrote:Furthermore, if there's a short term supply interruption in the south/southeast due to the hurricane, why is the midwest seeing a jump in gas prices when the price of oil is dropping?

Because some of our refining capacity is being diverted to cover the shortages in the south/southeast?

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:51 pm

icejammer wrote:Because some of our refining capacity is being diverted to cover the shortages in the south/southeast?

There can't possibly be AT MOST a week interruption in gas production in the gulf. And frankly, if we're running that tight on gas supply in this country... holy smokes.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:16 pm

Big E wrote:There can't possibly be AT MOST a week interruption in gas production in the gulf. And frankly, if we're running that tight on gas supply in this country... holy smokes.

Again, demand for gas is highly inelastic, so a small change in supply can lead to a large change in price. Not saying that's right, but that's how it works....

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:46 pm

the fact that oil has spiked $25+ so far today makes it very clear that it's all about the investment and not about the supply. that is nearly 25% more than it was on Friday and I don't see any OPEC nations or independent producers turning off valves.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:57 pm

almighty_tuna wrote:the fact that oil has spiked $25+ so far today makes it very clear that it's all about the investment and not about the supply. that is nearly 25% more than it was on Friday and I don't see any OPEC nations or independent producers turning off valves.

I would argue that today's spike is almost entirely due to the useless dollar (which, yes, is in turn about the investment), which is underscored by the $700 billion bailout you and I are paying for.

As if that isn't the most rosy thing you've ever heard, take a gander at this:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/15/news/ec ... tm?cnn=yes

Fortune wrote:Matt Simmons is as perplexed as anyone that it has fallen to him to take on OPEC, Exxon, the Saudis, and all the other misguided defenders of conventional wisdom in the oil patch. Why should one investment banker with a penchant for research be required to point out what he regards as the obvious - that from here on out, oil supplies can't meet demand, and if we don't act soon to solve this crisis, World War III could be looming?

Why should a man who scorns most environmentalists have to argue that locally grown produce and wind power are the way of the future? Why should a lifelong Republican need to be the one to point out that his party's new mantra - "Drill, baby, drill!" - won't really fix anything and that his party's presidential candidate is clueless about energy? That the spike in oil prices earlier this year wasn't a temporary market anomaly and the recent retreat in prices is just a misleading calm before a calamitous storm? That we're headed toward $500-a-barrel oil?

If you have a few spare minutes, read that and your head might explode.

S33 · Post by **S33** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:03 pm

almighty_tuna wrote:the fact that oil has spiked $25+ so far today makes it very clear that it's all about the investment and not about the supply. that is nearly 25% more than it was on Friday and I don't see any OPEC nations or independent producers turning off valves.

I heard there was a Hurricane forecasted for sometime in August of '09. Its probably good that prices spike now so any losses will surely be recovered.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:20 pm

Speculators caught with their pants down???

. . . Eric Bolling, who is an oil trader by profession, the massive jump in oil could be related to a hedge fund or investment firm being caught in a massive short squeeze. In a short squeeze, a trader has to buy contracts on the open market to cover positions before they close and the oil is delivered. . . .

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:39 pm

Short sellers bet the price of crude will fall, which helped send oil from nearly $120 a barrel late last month to near $90 at its lowest point. Short sellers borrow crude at one price and then have to pay it back, at what they hope will be a lower price.

When the contract expired Monday, all those short sellers were forced to buy the October contract to pay back their debt, which sent the price of oil soaring.

Carbone seemed to think that it was one company that was responsible for most of the late-day surge

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/22/markets ... 2008092217

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 11:43 am

And in positive news, gas has dropped at least 8 cents in the last week, now at $3.17/gal

Allan_Love_Jr · Post by **Allan_Love_Jr** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:21 am

It's not just the price of gas it self. Add on all these stupid taxes and you get much higher price of gas at the pump.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:08 am

i know it was down to 3.09 at some places...

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:50 am

Add on all these stupid taxes and you get much higher price of gas at the pump.

Perhaps we should just revert back to dirt and gravel and a team of oxen to pull our car across the creek.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:03 pm

saw gas at 3.02, or 3.07...i'm not that sure, it was hard to see.

Post by **nebugeater** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:19 pm

thenewguy wrote:saw gas at 3.02, or 3.07...i'm not that sure, it was hard to see.

In Omaha or CB? The lowest on this drop I have seen in Omaha so far is 3.13 early this AM

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:49 pm

council bluffs...

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:38 am

Saw gas at 2.99 at Flying J as exit 432 on I80 coming home from the Husker "game" tonight.

theurge · Post by **theurge** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:05 am

$2.83 in CB yesterday.[/i]

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:44 pm

theurge wrote:$2.83 in CB yesterday.[/i]

Wasn't that at the two stations that I saw on the news were having a little gas war? The one owner said he was selling at a loss and was going to stay at 2.89 through thee weekend.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:43 pm

probably, though i saw it at a few different places under $3

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:22 pm

I paid $2.89 at the Sinclair of of I29 today.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:41 am

Does anyone else find it interesting that with many of the big, sprawled to heck areas in the south with no gas to use, and now the price has been dropping dramatically?

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:19 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/14/oil.wh ... index.html

Bobby Maxwell kept a close eye on the oil industry for more than 20 years as a government auditor. But he said the federal agency he worked for is now a "cult of corruption" -- a claim backed up by a recent government report.

"I believe the management we were under was showing favoritism to the oil industry," Maxwell told CNN.

Maxwell, a registered independent, said the shift in attitude at the agency began about seven or eight years ago, about the time the Bush administration came into power. He said he was discouraged from aggressively auditing oil companies.

"Laws and regulations were not applied, also not enforced," he said.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:18 pm

Paid $2.67 this weekend, probably even lower now...

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:39 pm

Down to $2.37 last night.

So where are all the mainstream media reports on how falling gas prices are helping out the consumer, to counter all the gloom and doom from this summer when the world was going to end because of rising fuel prices? Inquiring minds want to know...

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:51 pm

icejammer wrote:So where are all the mainstream media reports on how falling gas prices are helping out the consumer, to counter all the gloom and doom from this summer when the world was going to end because of rising fuel prices? Inquiring minds want to know...

Inquiring minds should use Google...

Falling prices give rise to deflation fears

http://www.statesman.com/business/conte ... ation.html

WASHINGTON — After steep price increases that sparked concerns about inflation earlier this year, many prices have fallen lately. Oil and other commodity prices are down sharply since midsummer. Housing prices have continued their long slide.

Meanwhile, consumer spending has slowed, and the economy is shedding jobs at an increasing rate. Credit markets are nearly frozen.

The confluence of trends has some economists worried that the country could be headed for a debilitating cycle of deflation: a period in which weak consumer demand, falling prices and tight credit ignite a downward spiral of still weaker demand and still lower prices. Under this scenario, as some businesses are strangled, joblessness increases, feeding the cycle.