Oil falls as product supplies mark 1-month rise ~ Crude-oil futures fell under $54 a barrel

Marketwatch ^ | Jan 10, 2007 11:11 AM ET | Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell under $54 a barrel Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed that supplies of distillates and gasoline rose for a fourth week in a row, but crude inventories have been falling for seven weeks.

The Energy Department report, "while reporting lower crude oil stocks, reported substantial gains in both distillates and gasoline," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics.

"Look for OPEC to address additional cuts in production before spring," he said in e-mailed comments, referring to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group of the world's key oil producers.

Crude for February delivery was last down $1.74 at $53.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier touching a low of $53.90, the contract's weakest intraday level since June 2005.

Crude supplies fell 5 million barrels to 314.7 million for the week ended Jan. 5, the Energy Department said in a report released Wednesday. Inventories have dropped a total of 26.4 million barrels in seven weeks, according to the data.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a bigger 7.7 million drop for last week and pegged total supplies at 313.3 million.

[thackney]

You can't have it both ways

We don't. The stations keeping prices high are are not the norm. Look at the overall data.

[dirtboy]

The granularity of your chart isn't sufficient to deal with the point I made. If the price of crude rises one day, the price of gas at the pump often goes up the same day or the next day. But if the price of crude drops, it often takes several days or as much as a week for the gas price to drop with it.

[q_an_a]

That new minimum wage is raised to that level over 3 years not in 2007. Second those are not my numbers but those of another poster - but you don't have him earning $1.00 in revenue other than gas, the lucky $122 million mega million lotto was sold at just such a store, which my post mentioned as a source of revenue.

Further as an example of my numbers, this morning I watched as 14 cars lined up at 8:05 to pump gas @ $1.93 - if that happend four times between 7 and 8:30 then our store owner has all his overhead handled, then at the end of the work day he does that again and he shows a profit on all your expenses because 1,000 gallons is a drop in the bucket.

In addition, the price of gas is showing real business at work - my gas station is selling @ 1.93 and two miles away near the Toll Way the price is 2.20 That is the system at work. Sellers set prices based on costs or what the market will allow.

[q_an_a]

I've owned a company with a million dollars in sales and all the joys of taxes, insurance, death of employee family members, helping out in the community and listening to the excuses of people that think they are the company when they make bad decisions that cost the company money - so while it is iteresting that you jumped to a conclusion not even slightly mentioned in my post - you got it wrong.

[thackney]

The why did you claim at all dollars above the cost of inventory was profit?

[thackney]

If the price of crude rises one day, the price of gas at the pump often goes up the same day or the next day. But if the price of crude drops, it often takes several days or as much as a week for the gas price to drop with it.

Specific stations may do this but the industry as whole does not. The data is available, but none of it supports your claim.

U.S. Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

Weekly Spot Oil Price, WTI

[Gvl_M3]

You pulled from thackney's numbers.

He had;

Wholesale gas closed at 1.42 today and at several stations in Dallas we are paying 1.95

Now add 18.4¢ for Federal tax and 20¢ for Texas tax. This leaves the retailer ~7.5% of his gross sales to pay all the other bills and still find a profit."

So, 1.42+.184+.20 = 1.804/gal.
Retail price = 1.959/gal
Profit per gal = $0.155

His 7.5% would equal $146 profit on 1000 gals. My number gives $155. I think you misread 7.5% to get $750 profit on 1000 gals.

I'm not disputing that "some" stations can make a lot of money, but some barely get by. (I know this because my aunt runs one that has lost money over the last few years)

Also, I'm an engineer and glaring math errors stand out :)

[ANDY72632]

Missouri gasoline prices link.
http://www.missourigasprices.com/

[dirtboy]

The data is available, but none of it supports your claim.

Examine your graph more closely. It does support my claim. There are many, many instances where there is either no drop in gas prices in response to crude drops or there is a delayed drop.

[thackney]

Instances yes, the overall trend is not. There are also instances in the chart of the price of gasoline fall faster and sooner than the price of oil.

[dirtboy]

Well, let's see. It's four days later and the price of gas where I live, in response to the significant drop in crude prices last week ... is unchanged.

Had the price of crude gone up an equivalent percentage, the price would have been raised within 24 hours.

I rest my case.

[thackney]

You can base your case on a single case of a single location. I am interested in the bigger picture which shows your claim to be false.

[dirtboy]

You can base your case on a single case of a single location. I am interested in the bigger picture which shows your claim to be false.

I already showed your graph shows all kinds of gaps.

Oh, and the price still has not dropped as of today.