What is up with the gas prices??

[jrSS]

I work in ft wayne. That's where I usually fill up cuz its cheaper. I don't get how gas prices can vary so much. Regular undleaded varies 10 to 20 cents. Wtf???? I just don't get it. Gas is gas. Why the price difference???

 

[ksimm92]

I agree, while in bloomington this weekend I filled up for $3.62... I come back to naperville and its $4.02.

 

[The_Roadie]

Why the price difference???

1) Free market system.
2) Election politics
3) Regional variation getting ready for winter
4) Supply chain (refinery, pipeline, etc.) issues.
5) Because they can.
6) Ferengi investments.
7) Local competition
8) Taxes
9) Chinese investments.
10) Greed
11) Profit
12) "Additional Dealer Markup" (oh, wait - that's dealer abuse, not the gasoline market)
13) News of mideast rioting travels more slowly to some markets
14) Rumors of a tanker being attacked in the ocean
15) Early snowfall in Manitoba
16) A typhoon in Rangoon

 

[meerschm]

I live in the VA DC suburbs, and MD has $06 a gallon higher taxes. price is not reflected in the price at the pump, check gasbuddy.com. the local stations just know they can jack up the price, and do.

so refusal of state folks to increase gas tax and build or improve roads has enriched the local distributors, left the local area with some of the worst traffic in the country, and resulted in for-profit types taking over the roads.

https://www.495expresslanes.com/

(I know it is complex, but the model of gas tax funding roads is not working as well as it did 50 years ago)

 

[BO TIE SS]

1) Because they can.
2) Greed
3) Profit
4) Free market system.
5) Election politics
6) Regional variation getting ready for winter
7) Supply chain (refinery, pipeline, etc.) issues.
8) Ferengi investments.
9) Local competition
10) Taxes
11) Chinese investments.
12) "Additional Dealer Markup" (oh, wait - that's dealer abuse, not the gasoline market)
13) News of mideast rioting travels more slowly to some markets
14) Rumors of a tanker being attacked in the ocean
15) Early snowfall in Manitoba
16) A typhoon in Rangoon

There. I adjusted the priority of the list.

Ironically, the first three sound very similar to a certain automotive site owner we know.

 

[Denali n DOO]

Ya it's pretty dumb how much it fluctuates, last week $5.06 gallon, weekend $4.61 gallon and this morning at $4.74 gallon. And that's all at the same Esso station. The price at this Esso is ALWAYS cheaper at night. Every night it drops .11-.18 cents per gallon and then back up for the morning rush. I usually buy gas at night.

It's just dumb!

 

[Wex]

much it fluctuates,

It is not fluctuation. It's flatulation. Ahmadinejad farts some bubbles in the gulf and the price raises as if on queue.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I have a 65 mile each way commute and fuel prices can be 40 cents difference at either end of it. I know a couple places that are generally cheap..maybe not cheapest, but they are never on the high end of spectrum and i support them since they tend to drop prices right away but be slow on raising them.

Sucks but it is what it is.

 

[Cable810]

We've been at 4.09 since the begining of september and they just droped 10 cents about 5 days ago.... Usually the next closest town is about 5-10 cents cheaper.

 

[benz01]

1) Free market system.
2) Election politics
3) Regional variation getting ready for winter
4) Supply chain (refinery, pipeline, etc.) issues.
5) Because they can.
6) Ferengi investments.
7) Local competition
8) Taxes
9) Chinese investments.
10) Greed
11) Profit
12) "Additional Dealer Markup" (oh, wait - that's dealer abuse, not the gasoline market)
13) News of mideast rioting travels more slowly to some markets
14) Rumors of a tanker being attacked in the ocean
15) Early snowfall in Manitoba
16) A typhoon in Rangoon

You left one off

17) iPhone 5 release

 

[Boricua SS]

its been $3.89 here for the past month... which puts me at $4.11 a gallon of 93 for the beaSSt (part of the reason i havent driven her in weeks) with my DD Grand Prix knocking on the door of 30 mpgs... she sees all the road time for me... but it is what it is... nothing we can do about it...

 

[jrSS]

Yea I understand there isn't anything we can do about it .....but its bullshit when on place is 3.60 and another place down the road is 3.85. Gas is just fuckin stupid anymore. I am not complaining at all that I pump premium. Its the mark up from one gs to another that bugs me. If I wanted a vehicle that sips fuel I would've bought an ugly ass smart car. I love raw power of my SS and the looks of it...so an ugly ass gas sipper is not an option for me.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Between fuel, bullets, and beers it was $150 bucks for the weekend...Well worth it to haul four guys, plus guns and 3 coolers in my truck. As stated...it is what it is...

I paid 3.89 for fuel and this morning it was 3.94. Less than $1 difference in my fill-up. Coulda driven 1 gallon away and saved 10 cents, but that is still not worth it.

 

[northcreek]

Between fuel, bullets, and beers it was $150 bucks for the weekend...Well worth it to haul four guys, plus guns and 3 coolers in my truck. As stated...it is what it is...

I paid 3.89 for fuel and this morning it was 3.94. Less than $1 difference in my fill-up. Coulda driven 1 gallon away and saved 10 cents, but that is still not worth it.

I am lucky in that Iam near the reservation and can get Native American gas tax free,Iam also unlucky that this part of NY has some of the highest priced gas in the nation so it's going for about $3.65 pg.I usually pack-up every can that I own(40 gals approx) and make it an event,dog hike along a deserted Lake Erie beach,coffee stop at Hortons and maybe a stop at Tractor Supply.It's not too far and I can save about $30 and keep all our junk running for a while...more of a moral victory than a practical one though...Mike.

 

[Sparky]

Used to be I could sort of track where gas prices were going by watching the crude prices. Now it is so random and screwy that I cannot put a finger on any real major indicator where gas is going next, aside from when it has dropped for a few days and appears to be leveling a little bit I'll get it as it has a good chance of jumping 40 cents again.

It's retarded.

 

[gmcman]

Because Hurricane katrina knocked out a refinery in the gulf for a short while and prices soared to over $4/Gal.....duh.

They just conveniently forgot to drop the prices down to $1.75 from where they were. Then more lies.


From before I could drive in the early 80's to before Operation Iraqi Freedom, gas prices always hovered around $1.10 then up to $1.30 during the summer months and the big holidays. During Desert Storm prices went to about $1.60 but then dropped back down to around $1-1.10/gal.

Never before have gas prices jumped around 20-50 cents here and there like it was nothing...even a dollar.

I have receipts in my console from 2003 when prices were rising and were at $1.35/gal. I could easily fill my tank with a $20 bill and a cup of joe with change coming back.

Bunch of lies now.

 

[Sparky]

Remember part of the prices is also the far weaker dollar we have now than we did 10 years ago, plus increased worldwide demand and increased costs of drilling/extracting/refining/etc. But that sure doesn't account for all of it. I think today $2.50-ish is a reasonable price with all NORMAL things considered. Most of the extra on top of that is all the excess garbage now attached to it.

 

[borretje]

Try driving a us car like me in europe 5.25 dollar a gallon!

 

[McGMT]

Try driving a us car like me in europe 5.25 dollar a gallon!

Is that why they sell it by the liter everywhere so it doesn't look quite so horrible on the sign?

 

[borretje]

Yeah ,and I'm sorry it's 5.80 dollar,so filling up is about 120 dollars!! and two times a week!
I guess that's why they have a speedlimit in the us!

 

[meerschm]

Short-Term Energy Outlook - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

and a good graphic here:

Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update - Energy Information Administration