One of the big problems is the EPA mandated boutique gasolines that kick in every spring. This is described in the media as “Summer Driving Season” which is a misnomer. It’s not that people drive more in the summer (or not much). It’s that due to EPA regulations, instead of a couple of types of gasoline there are now more like 100 depending on your region. This produces artificial shortages, due to the havoc it wreaks on the refineries and the pipelines.
What would be very interesting (I’ll ping thackney to this thread) would be a multi-year graph of the spread between crude and gasoline on a month to month basis. My bet is that this spread typically enlarges in the spring and summer months due to what I’m describing. This is almost NEVER mentioned in the MSM I guess cause they don’t want you to know.
Nonsense. The EPA has just as many requirements in winter fuels as well. The difference is a lower vapor pressure requirement in the spring. (The actual nonsense is by the EPA, all year long).
My bet is that this spread typically enlarges in the spring and summer months due to what I’m describing.
I don't have a graph handy at the moment but what I've seen in the past is is not related to seasons. I have seen a trend when oil price first gets high the margin's tend to get squeezed small until the price begins to equalise. On a percentage, a small term spike in oil will not directly relate to gasoline price spike. It will go up but not as much.
See July 2008 as an example: