Posted on 03/28/2006 12:11:14 PM PST by presidio9
If you've bought gasoline in the last few days knows, you know that prices at the pump are on the rise again.
Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations, told CBS Radio News the average price of all grades combined is up nearly 15 cents over the last two weeks, to $2.52. That's 40 cents higher than last year at this time.
Tom Kloza, an oil analyst for the Oil Price information Service told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler Tuesday, "This is pretty much typical for this time of year. It seems a little worse because we're starting from higher numbers.
"But, generally, wholesale prices go up by about 55 percent from, let's say, mid-February to late May — and, as bad as this may seem, we haven't gone up that much right now. I'm afraid this may be the last time you see $2.50, or less than that, for about five months."
Are we looking at $3 a gallon gasoline this summer?
"I don't think we are, unless there's a calamity," Kloza says. But, he warns, "there's a pretty good chance for some calamities this year. This is going to be the summer of hurricane fears, the summer of hurricane worries.
"Oil prices are established by traders, they're established by speculators, and they're established by people who react to fear. And there's no question that this spring and summer is going to be a summer of fear about the tropics. So, I think, without any hurricane impacts or anything geopolitically in Iran, Nigeria or Venezuela, we're looking at $2.50 to $2.75 on average for the next five months.
"If we get an event, that brings $3 and all the other numbers into play. An event would, of course, be a tropical system making landfall near (oil-producing) hardware," or a problem in any of the major oil-producing nations.
"A lot of the gasoline price and a lot of the crude oil price is established by the investment community," Kloza explains. "The investment community is worried about a geopolitical hot spot. It's also worried about refineries breaking down, because we really have no margin of error.
"That investment community is not likely to be selling, particularly since the real peak driving season in the days where we use 9.5, 9.6 million barrels a day is well ahead of us. It's going to be a tough period to go through."
What can we do to help reduce the impact on our pocketbooks?
"Everyone should realize there's really no downside to conservation," Kloza said. "You might not necessarily need to cancel your summer vacations. You probably should take them.
"Measured in personal disposable income, gasoline is still pretty much a bargain, but pay attention.
"I think if you can cut back a little bit, that's a prudent measure, whether we're talking about gasoline or we're talking about appetite for other things. There is a lot of excessive consumption out there. It holds true in gasoline and holds true in a lot of other elements."
Because they have to make Oxigenated gasoline until X date by federal mandate.
Here in Alabama, it was $2.49 last week. This week it is $2.40. Go figure.
Who cares? I could really give a flip...milk goes up and down and nobody gives a ratz patoody...so does butter, lettuce, tomatoes and just about everything else in this great country. I need gas, food and clothing. I'll but what I need and stop going to the movies..ooops, haven't been to a movie in two years or more...I'll just adjust somewhere else.
The greedy oil companies need to talk to "THE GUY" who pegs the price each week and tell him to jack it up faster and bring it back down slower...LOL!
I paid $2.39 this morning in Mobile.
There ARE ways to make $$$ off of this forecast....
Yeah, but we're not talking about bottled water. Heh heh heh...
That's pretty good. You guys probably don't have to buy the exotic blend we do though. That probably raises our costs by $0.10 to $0.25 a gallon. Still, you're looking pretty good back there.
As Rush notes, this time of year the so called experts are touted by the Drive By Media on this subject and are more than often wrong.
Again I wish the specultors that are driving the market up would be investigated. This is where we would find the real crime, not at the corporate offices of Exxon, Cheveron, etc.
$2.42 - $2.49 around town with some isolated gas stations about 15 cents more proud of their product.
It's starting here in Texas. It's gone down about 5 cents in a week here so hopefully the Good People of North Carolina will see the drop soon.
1200 mile round trip, 15 MPG = 80 gallons...Yep, that extra $80 is going to change folks' plans. If it does, they need to stay home and work....
Down 10 cents a gallon here in OH in the past three days.
If Bush were smart, he'd have the EPA authorize any and all gasoline formulas everywhere in the USA. Why is one formula better at fighting smog in LA? A second in Huston? A Third in Chicago?
One of the bottlenecks that creates the summer increase in prices is the strain that so many different formulas have on the limited refining, storage and distribution of the product.
The formula I buy in Cornland to go to Chicago gives me 10 or 15% more mileage than the smog figthing formula I buy in Chicago to return to work. So if the smog fighting formula burns more gas for the same miles, how is that a plus for either energy conservation or pollution?
"1200 mile round trip, 15 MPG = 80 gallons...Yep, that extra $80 is going to change folks' plans. If it does, they need to stay home and work...."
Look at it this way - average family with two cars putting on a total of 30k per year, and each car averaging 20 mpg, an increase from $2.50 to $3.00 results in an extra $750 dollars in yearly gas costs.
That's a weeks pay for a lot of people.
// 40mpg Civic and 30mpg Accord owner
/ It's conservative to "conserve"
"This is going to be the summer of hurricane fears, the summer of hurricane worries."
Gee, I planned on enjoying my summer here on the east coast of FL. Now I have to make time to fear and worry about the unknown.
you mean as opposed to the oil company execs and cartels - who rig the markets because they think they are entitled to record profits?
there was supposed to be some relaxing in refinery permit rules - where are all these new US refineries going up? the truth is, the industry likes the tight refining capacity just fine - they don't want to build any new refineries, and they don't want to store refined oil stocks to smooth out these price dislocations. they don't want any new competitors in the market either, and would rather further consolidate through mergers then compete.
but I guess they are ENTITLED to be allowed to do anything they want?
I told you people like to bitch. lol
its because of credit cards. most people absorb these higher gas costs, because they buy gas on credit, and it just gets rolled into their debt load.
want to see some conservation - ban credit card purchases for fuel - cash or debit only.
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