Gas prices are... um well, wait a minute

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by hbueno

83 octane? Weird, around here the lowest is 87.

Prolly a tipo ... 'cause ya can't musspell numbers .

2.89 at a low cost station here... many are under 3.05 in locations that typically have a .20-25 delta (profit) over their sister stations.

Because they can .... In areas that are much higher.... not because of oil/bbl as has been the historic norm.

Big oil profits have been lotteryish .... cha-ching!

Edited: My goto station is now below $3, along with quite a few others this morning... It's been a while

Ironically, this station has been a lower cost, high volume Sheetz station, typically .20-25 below other sister stations... now they are all virtually the same.

This is not how it has been since Sheetz appeared here years ago and forced virtually all the other low cost stations to lower their pump prices also.

Still strange times compared to historical trends here....imo. They do make some deer wif antlers too ..… bigguns!

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by fintstone

I have yet to personally see it below about $3.25...anywhere (driven cross country several times in the past year). It is still around $3.35 here. It needs to drop another dollar.

On my drive back from FL Keys up the coast last week, Lowest I seen was $3.10 in VA. That was in some little no name station off of rt 58

[Sooner or later]

We are probably close to the bottom. OPEC appears to be not happy with the lower prices and there are rumblings about additional production cuts.

[KFC911]

Over the decades, I've traveled both I-95 between here a north Fl, and also I-85 to the Richmond & DC areas. It has just been coincidental where I filled up for most of those years .... when the tank was on E , but I also knew which states were cheaper, and which stations were 1 mile off the Interstates (or less) and NEVER on them. My goto stations were consistent . .. gas just off of I-95 in Pooler,, Ga that I normally used are at 2.89 right now.... I usually ate there too .

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by hbueno

83 octane? Weird, around here the lowest is 87.

Yes, 87. My brain got stuck on 83 for some reason. I did that twice.

[fintstone]

Apparently (per AAA), the national average is still 3.495 with only 3 states that average under $3.00. That is better than it has been, but it appears that the really low prices cited here are not the norm.

[KFC911]

I'm actually surprised that 3 states average below 3 .... certainly not here. That big blob of red out west is where folks are really getting bent over... and a LOT of gas is sold in CA .... and other areas which makes avgs much higher. With oil around $80/bbl, gas around 3 bucks seems "somewhat normal" by historical observation.... NC has pretty high gas taxes too.... just over the VA line, north of me it's usually 15-20 cheaper. SC & GA have always been where I buy gas when "on the road" .... never in north Fl if I could avoid it.

[cockerpunk]

so what happened to "the price of gas is going to spike" calls oh, a month ago?

[fintstone]

Give it time (after we run out of the Strategic Reserves). Heating oil is already up about 60%.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

U.S. gas prices plunge toward $3 a gallon as demand drops worldwide

The cost of gasoline is falling so fast that it is beginning to put real money back in the pockets of drivers, defying earlier projections and offering an unexpected gift for the holidays.

Filling up is now as cheap as it was in February, just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine touched off a global energy crisis. AAA reported the average nationwide price of a gallon of regular Wednesday was $3.50, and gas price tracking company GasBuddy projected it could drop below $3 by Christmas. And all of that relief probably helped drive robust shopping over Thanksgiving weekend.

“People are realizing that they might be back to spending $50 to fill their tank instead of $80,” said Emma Rasiel, a professor of economics at Duke University. “It is the main signal consumers notice on inflation. It is the one thing they are likely to track, how much it has gone up or down, because every week they need to fill up their car.”

But Rasiel cautioned that less-expensive gas can also give consumers the wrong idea. Prices of other goods and services are much less volatile, and there is no indication that this moment of more-affordable fuel is pushing the cost of other things down.

Even as the plunge in prices at the pump helps fuel a national holiday shopping spree, it is a reflection of the financial strain consumers and businesses are confronting worldwide. Prices are going down because demand for oil and gas is falling as countries brace for recession, coronavirus outbreaks in China threaten major financial disruption and drivers cut back on gas-guzzling as they try to save money to cover skyrocketing mortgage payments and stock market losses.

Earlier worries that sanctions on Russian oil would create a shortage in supply and send prices soaring toward the end of the year have, for now at least, given way to ailing economies and jittery financial markets.

“We’re heading into serious recession in Europe and further economic slowdown in the U.S. as people struggle with high interest rates and worry about their personal wealth and savings,” said Ben Cahill, an energy security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Add it all up and it creates a bleak picture for oil demand. Prices are reflecting that.”

Also helping keep prices low at the moment are some key U.S. oil refineries that returned to churning out gasoline after months of being out of commission for maintenance and repairs

But just as big a factor is the turmoil in China. As its leaders signal that new coronavirus lockdowns are imminent, touching off protests throughout the country, the expected economic fallout has turned oil traders bearish.

...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by fintstone

Give it time (after we run out of the Strategic Reserves). Heating oil is already up about 60%.

1 million bbls per day doesn't have much (if any) impact either way, compared to other factors at play imo. That's a pretty small amount of the US's daily production & consumption numbers.

[fintstone]

If it has little or no impact, why release/sell it?

[KFC911]

Politics ? It truly has very little influence on daily production or consumption totals imo. They've been selling it to cover deficit spending also in recent years.

Selling it when oil is sky high and replacing it later at a fraction of that cost is $mart too .

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by KC911

Politics ? It truly has very little influence on daily production or consumption totals imo. They've been selling it to cover deficit spending also in recent years.

Selling it when oil is sky high and replacing it later at a fraction of that cost is $mart too .

I suspect that this oil will be replaced with more expensive oil (if ever re-placed). It seems like just the other day when oil cratered and the President wanted to fill the Reserve. Congress said no.

[Evans, Marv]

Dropping like a rock around here. The County average just dropped below $5.00 today.

[Bob Kontak]

I sense the western Ohio member formerly known as Cabmandone wants you to know gas was $3.11 yesterday.

I understand he now just uses a symbol to represent himself.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

I sense the western Ohio member formerly known as Cabmandone wants you to know gas was $3.11 yesterday.

I understand he now just uses a symbol to represent himself.

Tell Nick we miss his BS'ing self, to come back, and just stay outta PARF this time!

Also tell him not to represent himself as:

N!

Some of y'all will "get it"

[wdfifteen]

$3.09 here. I topped the truck up when it was $3.39 thinking it was about to go up any day. I probably won't need to put gas in the truck until February now. It'll be $2.49 by then if this keeps up. Gasoline is a bad investment these days.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

I sense the western Ohio member formerly known as Cabmandone wants you to know gas was $3.11 yesterday.
I understand he now just uses a symbol to represent himself.

He could use this one....I hear it's very common in Ohio.

[VINMAN]

Been holding fairly steady the past week. Few up and down fluctuations in diesel though.

.