Price of gas

[Webmaster]

So now the average price of gas in the US is below two dollars a gallon. Yesterday I saw it at US$ 1.89 here in California where it traditionally costs a good bit more than in most states. And according to CNN, in Missouri it's like a buck sixty.

Now I wonder if ANYONE would have predicted this four months ago when the price was headed for US$5 a gallon. I didn't see any, "Bah humbug; it'll be below two bucks in notime" articles anywhere either. The consensus seemed to be that this time it was for real, and we better get used to four-dollar gas. Even the usually sarcastic car magazines (Motor Trend, Automobile, Car & Driver, Road & Track) gulped and declared four dollar gas, and soon more, the new reality. Chrysler offered $2.99 gas for three years as a sales incentive, but yanked it when it became too expensive. I saw used Priuses sell for over 30 grand and new trucks given away for over 50% off.

And now we're back to below two bucks. I swear, I wish I had a storage tank and could buy five years' worth of gas. At these prices I am virtually certain it'd be a great investment.

I think this (likely short-lived) episode shows that anything, absolutely anything, can happen.

[chunkeymonkey]

When I first moved to the USA 10 years ago I remember the gas price at $.92a gallon. Times have changed. The highest i fueled up at was $4.33/ gallon.
I just fueled up yesterday at $1.55/ gallon
For how long it will last no one knows for sure. All I can do is enjoy it while I can.

[Rojodi]

This morning, my wife pumped gas at $2.11/gallon - the kid refused to do it, he's DEAD. I remember us paying off $4 not too long ago

[Ho Ho Tai]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

So now the average price of gas in the US is below two dollars a gallon. Yesterday I saw it at US$ 1.89 here in California where it traditionally costs a good bit more than in most states. And according to CNN, in Missouri it's like a buck sixty.

Now I wonder if ANYONE would have predicted this four months ago when the price was headed for US$5 a gallon. I didn't see any, "Bah humbug; it'll be below two bucks in notime" articles anywhere either. The consensus seemed to be that this time it was for real, and we better get used to four-dollar gas. Even the usually sarcastic car magazines (Motor Trend, Automobile, Car & Driver, Road & Track) gulped and declared four dollar gas, and soon more, the new reality. Chrysler offered $2.99 gas for three years as a sales incentive, but yanked it when it became too expensive. I saw used Priuses sell for over 30 grand and new trucks given away for over 50% off.

And now we're back to below two bucks. I swear, I wish I had a storage tank and could buy five years' worth of gas. At these prices I am virtually certain it'd be a great investment.

I think this (likely short-lived) episode shows that anything, absolutely anything, can happen.

Webbie -
I offer this response, a repost from the Living Green thread, first posted on Nov. 13, 2008. Since then, the going price is in the mid $1.60 range. I hold to my original premise.

[Miss Vickie]

Our gas has come way down in price, but we're still more expensive than just about any place else in the US. Last night I found a station that had 2.73 a gallon. But at it's highest we were at nearly $5 a gallon so I'm pretty pleased.

What I do NOT understand is why, given the drop in oil prices, our natural gas prices are still so high. Not only have they not come down, but there will be an increase in January.

OTOH, no one has ever accused me of being an economics genius (that's my son). I'm sure there's some reasonable explanation but it in no way makes things more palatable as we head into a long winter.

[Zandoz]

Actually, many predicted exactly what would happen:

1. That the commodities market manipulation was what was jacking the price of oil artificially high, and that ending that manipulation would result in the rapid drop in prices. Back in early summer, Multiple commodities market insiders testified before congress that if the commodities market manipulation ended, oil prices would drop 50% in a matter of a few months. Some minor changes in regulations were made, and serious regulation was threatened. A few months later, here we are.
2. The attempt at national blackmail using phantom shortages to get cheap access to protected lands failed, and more and more saw those phantom shortages for what they were.
3. That there would be a dramatic drop in prices leading up to the election. October came, with the Grand Oil Party in trouble...it was no coincidence that the month leading to the election was when the plummet started.

Unfortunately, congress never followed through with those commodities market regulations. High prices will be back after a election tampering plausible deniability period passes.

[furious styles]

This came just in time for my next drive upstate. At this point 3 tanks of gas for me is like, 60 bucks. As opposed to a 120 dollar greyhound ticket. Like conrad said, I wish I had a massive storage tank and about 1,000 dollars.

[Green Eyed Fairy]

It always comes down right before election time....it came down FAST this time starting in October. I had predicted it ..... but not this much.
Others notice this "down before election" trend sometimes, too. I'm not sure how long these prices will last though......
Would be nice if the price stayed down, thus letting the overall cost of living drop back down again, as well.

Oh yeah....what Zan said......

Originally Posted by Zandoz

ic drop in prices leading up to the election. October came, with the Grand Oil Party in trouble...it was no coincidence that the month leading to the election was when the plummet started.[/list]
Unfortunately, congress never followed through with those commodities market regulations. High prices will be back after a election tampering plausible deniability period passes.

[bobbleheaddoll]

i agree the price easing started when the republicans realized that mccain was in trouble and the gas prices became such an issue...the oil companies protection by the party couldn't last any more...they had no choice but to drop the prices.

i disagree the prices will go up sharply once obama takes office and the election season is over. i think the economy has swung too far down in the meantime to allow the oil companies to continue their gouging and get away with it. now they run the risk of stronger gov't regulation and oversight if they don't cooperate and relax the gas prices.

unfortunately higher home heating oil prices is the natural cycle of oil sales. summer driving=higher gas prices. people drive less overall in the winter therefore the oil companies sell less gas and have to make it up where they are still selling...in home heating. they know people have to have it and are a captive audience.

my personal hope is someday the gov't will use public domain laws for the good of the country and take over the oil fields. heck, if they can take someone's home to sell to a mall developer then they should be able to take over the oil fields for the common good...

[Lardibutts]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

So now the average price of gas in the US is below two dollars a gallon. Yesterday I saw it at US$ 1.89 here in California where it traditionally costs a good bit more than in most states. And according to CNN, in Missouri it's like a buck sixty.

Now I wonder if ANYONE would have predicted this four months ago when the price was headed for US$5 a gallon. .

Dream on over there in the sunshine!
Here in UK it is now down to US$ 6 a gallon from a high of US$ 8.1 back in the summer.

Our natural gas went up 43% in the summer - and stayed there! We've bought lots more woollies and click the boiler on for an hour or two of heat at a time. Still if it saves the planet . . . (shiver)

[Littleghost]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

So now the average price of gas in the US is below two dollars a gallon. Yesterday I saw it at US$ 1.89 here in California where it traditionally costs a good bit more than in most states. And according to CNN, in Missouri it's like a buck sixty.

Now I wonder if ANYONE would have predicted this four months ago when the price was headed for US$5 a gallon. I didn't see any, "Bah humbug; it'll be below two bucks in notime" articles anywhere either. The consensus seemed to be that this time it was for real, and we better get used to four-dollar gas. Even the usually sarcastic car magazines (Motor Trend, Automobile, Car & Driver, Road & Track) gulped and declared four dollar gas, and soon more, the new reality. Chrysler offered $2.99 gas for three years as a sales incentive, but yanked it when it became too expensive. I saw used Priuses sell for over 30 grand and new trucks given away for over 50% off.

And now we're back to below two bucks. I swear, I wish I had a storage tank and could buy five years' worth of gas. At these prices I am virtually certain it'd be a great investment.

I think this (likely short-lived) episode shows that anything, absolutely anything, can happen.

Yeah, it's been hovering around the 1.50s for about a week or so, and has shown signs of the cheaper gas going down even more. Ironically, gas prices are now helping to keep our local economy running as public transit didn't get the additional funding it needed to run at the same level (due to high gas prices ) and service is scheduled to be cut in half. I stopped getting a monthly pass and am now back to regular one-mode transportation. However, they're still continuing to build onto our light rail system no matter what.

[imfree]

This gas price drop makes the oil companies look like
a john who got busted with his pants down!

[steely]

If it will just stay down until the first of January.I have a 1500 mile road trip to Ohio in January.Ohio in January,why am I putting myself through this.I will be frozen in a snow bank but at least I could say I got there cheaper.

[canadianbbw4u]

Sadly 4 months ago I was paying 6.21/gallon... Today gas is 3.69/gallon. Of course our gas signs dont say that cause we use litres! But I did the math! Filling up is much easier on the credit card these days!!!!!!

[bobbleheaddoll]

here in charlotte the ave price is around 1.91 while if you go over the border into south carolina you can get gas as low as 1.70/gal.

i do feel bad for the people in europe...the prices there are much higher and have been for awhile. hopefully they are getting a bit of a break too...

[CleverBomb]

Originally Posted by Green Eyed Fairy

It always comes down right before election time....it came down FAST this time starting in October. I had predicted it ..... but not this much.
Others notice this "down before election" trend sometimes, too. I'm not sure how long these prices will last though......
Would be nice if the price stayed down, thus letting the overall cost of living drop back down again, as well.

Oh yeah....what Zan said......

I'm sure they wanted to drop gas prices earlier in the year, but the back-to-back hurricanes interrupted refining capability and gasoline supplies for the south coast region. Once production was back up and running, there was a backlogged surplus of oil on hand for refining, and an unknown but unmet demand for gasoline -- they flooded the market with everything they could produce, and overshot badly (for them).

-Rusty
(wants a 4x4 pickup now that gas is cheap...)

[Imp]

Some thoughts:

* Gasoline prices always go down in the fall/winter. That is, always, right before national elections.
* Republicans were pushing a "drill here, drill now" platform. They needed prices to stay up, not go down.

So, conspiracy peeps, I see a hole.

Also...

* Oil and natural gas are completely different commodities. There's no reason to expect that when one goes down the other must, too. They are rarely interchangeable, so it's not as if they compete with each other either.

Finally, regarding bold predictions, by next summer the financial crisis will be a memory and retrospective analyses will indicate a US recession of about eight months. California (actors strikes, general government stupidity) and the upper Midwest will still see regional recessions.

[Zandoz]

Originally Posted by Imp

Some thoughts:

* Gasoline prices always go down in the fall/winter. That is, always, right before national elections.
* Republicans were pushing a "drill here, drill now" platform. They needed prices to stay up, not go down.

So, conspiracy peeps, I see a hole.

Yeah....a couple big ones in your cover stories.........

* Gasoline prices always go down a little in the late fall/winter...right after they raise during the artificial shortage period for winter blend conversion. And that small fluctuation is not in oil prices, it's in fuel prices. None of that explains the rapid 60+% drop in oil prices.

*Republicans lost the "drill here, drill now" blackmail attempt when debate was shut down in congress July 31st....the price of crude that day was hovering around $127/bbl. That game was over.

Now for some time line highlights you are trying to make excuses for:

• Around June 24 congressional testimony that with the return of commodities market regulations, the price of oil would drop 50% in a matter of weeks. Big oil apologists of course deny that there is manipulation. Oil price around $137/bbl.
• The week of July 7th congressional debate on 9 bills like "Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008" (H.R. 6330) begins. Oil prices in the $140-145 per bbl range.
• July 11th, the peak price of $147/bbl...followed by a quick drop as support for commodities regulation builds.
• July 23rd, Hurricane Dolly. Oil prices already down to the mid $120s continue plummeting in spite of the hurricane.
• September 14th, Hurricane Ike. Oil prices have already dropped around 1/3 to around $100/bbl...but rise about $5 for a few days as a result of the hurricane....then resume plummeting.
• By October 31st, days before the election the price of oil is at $67/bbl...down 54% from the peak just weeks before, when the threat of regulation became imminent, and 47% from the failure of the national blackmail attempt.

When things got so bad that even the non-big oil speculators knew that the speculation game had gone to far, and fessed-up to congress...met the failure of the national blackmail attempt...and the imminent loss of their Grand Oil Party friends in high places...the only logical path left was to cut and run to preserve their ability to use their manipulation tools another day. It was fast becoming certain that pushing their manipulation would have meant even more GOP losses and imposition of regulations.

What else happened to justify the plummet in oil (not gasoline) prices from mid July to present? NOTHING! Things were just as unstable in the Middle East...no new supplies of oil came on line...no dramatic change in demand.

[imfree]

Originally Posted by Zandoz

Yeah....a couple big ones in your cover stories.........

* Gasoline prices always go down a little in the late fall/winter...right after they raise during the artificial shortage period for winter blend conversion. And that small fluctuation is not in oil prices, it's in fuel prices. None of that explains the rapid 60+% drop in oil prices.

*Republicans lost the "drill here, drill now" blackmail attempt when debate was shut down in congress July 31st....the price of crude that day was hovering around $127/bbl. That game was over.

Now for some time line highlights you are trying to make excuses for:

• Around June 24 congressional testimony that with the return of commodities market regulations, the price of oil would drop 50% in a matter of weeks. Big oil apologists of course deny that there is manipulation. Oil price around $137/bbl.
• The week of July 7th congressional debate on 9 bills like "Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008" (H.R. 6330) begins. Oil prices in the $140-145 per bbl range.
• July 11th, the peak price of $147/bbl...followed by a quick drop as support for commodities regulation builds.
• July 23rd, Hurricane Dolly. Oil prices already down to the mid $120s continue plummeting in spite of the hurricane.
• September 14th, Hurricane Ike. Oil prices have already dropped around 1/3 to around $100/bbl...but rise about $5 for a few days as a result of the hurricane....then resume plummeting.
• By October 31st, days before the election the price of oil is at $67/bbl...down 54% from the peak just weeks before, when the threat of regulation became imminent, and 47% from the failure of the national blackmail attempt.

When things got so bad that even the non-big oil speculators knew that the speculation game had gone to far, and fessed-up to congress...met the failure of the national blackmail attempt...and the imminent loss of their Grand Oil Party friends in high places...the only logical path left was to cut and run to preserve their ability to use their manipulation tools another day. It was fast becoming certain that pushing their manipulation would have meant even more GOP losses and imposition of regulations.

What else happened to justify the plummet in oil (not gasoline) prices from mid July to present? NOTHING! Things were just as unstable in the Middle East...no new supplies of oil came on line...no dramatic change in demand. Absolutely nothing else that would justify any more than the predictable seasonal adjustments.

You ROCK, dude! All that says is that the Johns got busted
with their pants down, LOl.

[Zandoz]

Originally Posted by Imp

Some thoughts:

* Gasoline prices always go down in the fall/winter. That is, always, right before national elections.
* Republicans were pushing a "drill here, drill now" platform. They needed prices to stay up, not go down.

So, conspiracy peeps, I see a hole.

Yeah....a couple big ones in your cover stories.........

* Gasoline prices always go down a little in the late fall/winter...right after they raise during the artificial shortage period for winter blend conversion. And that small fluctuation is not in oil prices, it's in fuel prices. None of that explains the rapid 60+% drop in oil prices.

*Republicans lost the "drill here, drill now" blackmail attempt when debate was shut down in congress July 31st....the price of crude that day was hovering around $127/bbl. That game was over.

Now for some time line highlights you are trying to make excuses for:

• Around June 24 congressional testimony that with the return of commodities market regulations, the price of oil would drop 50% in a matter of weeks. Big oil apologists of course deny that there is manipulation. Oil price around $137/bbl.
• The week of July 7th congressional debate on 9 bills like "Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008" (H.R. 6330) begins. Oil prices in the $140-145 per bbl range.
• July 11th, the peak price of $147/bbl...followed by a quick drop as support for commodities regulation builds.
• July 18th...less than 2 weeks after the beginning of commodities market regulation debate, and 7 days after the peak, Oil is down 13% to $128/bbl.
• July 23rd, Hurricane Dolly. Oil prices already down to the mid $120s continue plummeting in spite of the hurricane.
• September 14th, Hurricane Ike. Oil prices have already dropped around 1/3 to around $100/bbl...but rise about $5 for a few days as a result of the hurricane....then resume plummeting.
• By October 31st, days before the election the price of oil is at $67/bbl...down 54% from the peak just weeks before, when the threat of regulation became imminent, and 47% from the failure of the national blackmail attempt.

When things got so bad that even the non-big oil speculators knew that the speculation game had gone to far, and fessed-up to congress...met the failure of the national blackmail attempt...and the imminent loss of their Grand Oil Party friends in high places...the only logical path left was to cut and run to preserve their ability to use their manipulation tools another day. It was fast becoming certain that pushing their manipulation would have meant even more GOP losses and imposition of regulations.

What else happened to justify the plummet in oil (not gasoline) prices from mid July to present? NOTHING! Things were just as unstable in the Middle East...no new supplies of oil came on line...no dramatic change in demand...and in spite of hurricanes. Absolutely nothing else that would justify any more than the predictable seasonal adjustments.

[Jane]

Can someone explain why a station with $1.47 gas has $3.69 diesel?

[ecortez766]

Ok who was in office the last time that gas prices was this low. And who was in office when gas prices jumped to 3 dollars in 6 months?

[stan_der_man]

Originally Posted by Jane

Can someone explain why a station with $1.47 gas has $3.69 diesel?

It probably has to do with who their supplier is. Around SoCal the price difference between regular gas and diesel is usually 40¢ more for diesel.

[Zandoz]

Originally Posted by Jane

Can someone explain why a station with $1.47 gas has $3.69 diesel?

Because they can...and fewer voting individuals were inclined to pay attention to the price of diesel leading up to the election...and because they need to do all possible to prevent the rise of more efficient and more easily non-petro fueled diesel passenger vehicles...and so in a few months when their profits do not drop as proportionately to gas prices, they can say "see, all those profits were not because of gas prices", while relying on the public not to have paid attention to the price of diesel the last few months.

[stan_der_man]

Originally Posted by ecortez766

Ok who was in office the last time that gas prices was this low. And who was in office when gas prices jumped to 3 dollars in 6 months?

Perhaps your question should be "Who is going to be in office, and why are the oil companies lowering their prices now all of a sudden?"