Posted on 10/19/2005 8:05:05 AM PDT by Chuck54
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. gasoline deliveries, a key measure of demand, fell almost 4% in September to log their biggest year-to-year decline in more than a decade, the American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday morning.
"Motorists apparently found ways to manage fuel use and travel more efficiently in the face of higher September gasoline prices following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita striking along the U.S. Gulf Cost," the API said in a monthly report.
At the same time, September domestic crude output fell 22% from a year ago to 3.95 million barrels per day -- its lowest level since 1943, the API said.
For the third quarter, crude output averaged 4.8 million barrels per day, "the lowest quarter in more than 50 years," it said.
Refinery capacity utilization reached its lowest level for the month of September in 20 years, the API said. It averaged 82.7% for the month, with one-fifth of the county's refining capacity not in operation by the end of September in the wake of Katrina and Rita.
I honestly don't see gas going below 2.00 a gallon ever again.
supply and demand....IT WORKS!
Gas prices in KC, MO area are already under $2.28/gallon. What do you think will happen when all of the Gulf of America (formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico) production and refining comes back online?
more good news
"Oil Falls as Crude Stocks Swell"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1505247/posts
The market at work. Leave it alone and it always corrects itself.
We quit driving period, unless we absolutely needed to go somewhere, and we've combined our trips. We've cut back our driving about 25 percent I'd bet.
This year will be lean for Christmas. Were buying everyone a Mobil Oil gift certificate for a full tank of gas. Not real cheap, but thats it this year.
Always has, always will. Capitalism, aint it great?
Just from watching the price over the last year or two, gas is always quick to rise ... and even if the price per barrel of crude goes down the price of gas doesn't go down as quickly.
Unless something changes (like offshore or ANWAR drilling) I think we've seen the last of cheap gas.
Usually I'm an optimist, but maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today :-)
The interesting thing - gasoline demand is down, crude output is down - but oil stocks are up?
Or put another way - if you own a factory and people are demanding less of your widgets and you are making less of your widgets - would your stock go up or down...
Bush's fault!
(Hee, Hee, beat ya all!)
The demand side is a very important component of pricing as everyone knows. Using 4% less doesn't seem that difficult but it has brought prices down. Imagine if half of the SUV drivers traded in their gas guzzling trucks for a 25mpg station wagon?
A great idea. I have a nephew who drives 40 miles one-way to work. He is getting one of those. I love this gift idea.
Note the negative spin on the drop in refinery output as being the "lowest since 1943 and the drop in demand for gasoline to be the "largest in 10 years". It was not mentioned until the very end of the article that the drastic drop in production was totally caused by the hurricane which caused shortages which drove up prices which THEN caused the drop in demand!
I disagree. I would say $1.75 isn't out of the question.
FINDING DEAL$ ON GA$OLINE: |
By stocks I think they mean oil SUPPLY as opposed to shares of company stock.
I've cut my driving about 90%. I only use the car on weekends now (to run errands) as I get up about an hour earlier and walk to the train to get to work.
I've found I am happier as a result (less traffic stress), plus I always get about 45 minutes of walking in each day. If I lived someplace where the weather was worse, I'm not sure I could do that all winter. We'll see how it works out once it starts raining everyday here.
That's right it is the evil SUV drivers mucking up the world.
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