oil / gasoline price watch

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Gas hit 2.30 (average) in the U.S. today - it's de-coupled from oil prices which have been declining for the past few days.

You wouldn't expect gas prices to track oil prices in the short term, would you? After all, if the refinery is going to make a profit, what matters is how much the crude oil cost when it was purchased.

[MetroMPG]

If you chart them in the past 6 months, they've been pretty close. (Which of course doesn't mean causation.)

[Frank Lee]

They seem to track thus: if crude goes up or is rumored to go up, gasoline instantly goes up. If crude goes down, gasoline stays the same, only slowly and reluctantly going down as micro "gas wars" weigh on the price as competitors jockey for sales.

[drainoil]

Well all I know if I just filled up at 2.29/gallon for 87 octane. I'm expecting around $3/gallon by 4th of July.

[star_deceiver]

Diesel in one area of south Calgary is $0.749/L. Gas is around $0.989/L around where I live.

[MetroMPG]

How does that compare to recently?

Regular gas is just over $1 / L here. Provincially we're just over $4 US per US gallon according to Gasbuddy.

Well all I know if I just filled up at 2.29/gallon for 87 octane. I'm expecting around $3/gallon by 4th of July.

Well, gas in the States peaked this weekend at $2.32. Last year, it didn't go any higher after early June... then again, WTI oil's price resumed a steep decline at the end of June last year.

[redpoint5]

Price increases are the inevitable outcome of the pendulum swing caused by numerous factors. OPEC wanted to curb US production so they flooded the market with oil. They were effective at slowing down US investment in production, which peaked in May of last year, and has been in decline ever since.

My worthless anecdote is that a coworker bought a new Charger 5.7L V8. Americans aren't concerned about their 16 MPG vehicle when fuel prices are so low. This will undoubtedly increase consumption as everyone runs out to buy SUVs and other fuel hogs.

[freebeard]

I follow the Max Keiser Report. His position is that fracking is and always will be a money losing proposition, but front-running can extract wealth before the whole thing burns down.

And that's only possible because the costs are externalized, in environmental degradation and earthquakes.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

My worthless anecdote is that a coworker bought a new Charger 5.7L V8. Americans aren't concerned about their 16 MPG vehicle when fuel prices are so low.

Related:

Memorial Day gas prices will be the lowest in over a decade

Prices have increased every day for the last 12 days in a row leading to the highest fuel prices Americans have seen all year. Despite the extra pinch drivers are experiencing this month, 2016 is still set to have the lowest Memorial Day weekend fuel prices since 2005

Also related: unfortunately, traffic fatalities are also on the rise, despite ever-safer cars. Because Americans are driving more than ever before.

Research Links Cheap Gas Prices With More Road Deaths - Fortune

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

the costs are externalized, in environmental degradation and earthquakes.

I've heard that the micro-quakes are likely to reduce the big quakes that cause damage. The analogy is that it lubricates the faults causing an increased amount of smaller adjustments rather than big catastrophic quakes.

It would be interesting if similar technology were used to mitigate large quakes in the future. Humans affecting earth quakes is unprecedented.