Posted on 02/19/2009 8:50:43 AM PST by rightinthemiddle
The cost of a tank of gasoline has marched higher since the start of the year, defying a continued slide in oil prices and reduced demand.
So what gives?
Industry experts said refiners are trying to reclaim profit margins that disappeared late last year when gasoline prices collapsed after reaching $4 a gallon last summer.
"Refined-product prices were way underpriced relative to the cost of crude oil. The refiners were losing money," said Bryant Gimlin, energy risk manager for Gray Oil, a fuel wholesale marketer based in Fort Lupton.
A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the metro area has risen from an average of $1.42 in the first week of January to $1.82 on Wednesday, according to AAA Colorado.
That 28 percent increase contrasts with a 34 percent decline in crude-oil prices from $53.13 a barrel to less than $35 over the same period. Crude oil accounts for about three-quarters of the cost of gasoline.
The rising price of gasoline has cost drivers such as David Todd and his employer extra money.
"It is $10 to $15 more a tank," Todd said while filling up a work van at a station at Alameda Avenue and Broadway. "I wish it would go back to where it was."
Todd, who transports temporary workers to job sites, said he fills up his van two to three times a week and called the increases noticeable in a tight economy.
From about October to mid-December, refiners lost money on every barrel of gasoline they created from crude oil.
In late November, the loss exceeded $7 a barrel. This month, the gross margin for refiners has been as high as $18 a barrel.
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
Its not yours to question, serf.
You just pay whatever we tell you to pay!!!!
Get that man’s papers!!!!
READ THE TAG LINE!!!!
Sheesh.
That's a darn big gas tank. Split the difference at $12.50. At $0.40 more/gal, thats over a 30-gallon tank. Guy goes through almost 100 gallons of gas a week.
Is he represenative of all drivers? Not really.
I put about 10 gallons a week in my car. I'm not happy about the extra $4.00/wk or so, but neither is it going to bankrupt me. And I think that I'm fairly represenative of most other people on this.
But, I suppose "Customer pays extra $4.00/wk for gas, is mildly annoyed" doesn't sell many papers.
Is there a natural gas leak in here or something?
It happens every Spring, and every year people seem surprised by it.
A tiny fraction is the effect that crude prices have on gasoline prices when crude prices are on the way down BUT a huge fraction is the effect that crude prices have on gasoline prices when crude prices are on the way up....
Which still makes me glad I bought a motorcycle.
Gasoline prices and oil prices do not track in perfect tandem, and they never have. Yes, they are related, but they are not identical.
Complaints about gas prices are usually brought forward by those who support government controls and government mandates.
However, it is our government, more than any other factor, which is responsible for the high cost of fuel.
Regulations make fuel expensive.
Various EPA blends, for different parts of the country, make fuel expensive.
Taxes make fuel expensive.
Restrictions on drilling make fuel expensive.
Yes, some of these factors impact oil prices and gas prices.
However, the EPA mandates on fuel blends are often the culprit, when gasoline prices do not move in the same direction as oil prices.
Also, the fact that the greens won’t let us build any more refineries makes it hard for the industry to gear up for seasonal changes in EPA mandated gasoline blends.
...be careful, for years we were told to consider ourselves "lucky" we're not paying what they were in Europe. Now there's talk we should be at $4.00 a gal. to KEEP us prudent...don't fall for it. If I told you the government was going to take a $100 from you tomorrow and it turned out it was only $20...your suppose to feel lucky
This government is doing everything it can to shut down the engine of American capitalism.
Tow words for Motorcycle riders
-death cheaters, or
-organ donors
Good Luck, pal. And I mean that having just buried a dear loved one who was the victim of a careless car driver (and yes, we donated his organs)
Oil for spot delivery in Cushing OK, the benchmark for a big futures contract, is low because of a storage shortage at the pipe head. Elsewhere, crude oil has been going sideways in the $40-$45 range.
They are really screwing us this year on heating oil.
It is still $2.19/gallon delivered here in southern NH.
The NYC spot price is $1.18/gallon. It costs about $.20/gal to deliver it here. There is NO tax on heating oil. In normal years they made $.05 -.15 profit.
Also, for years the price of heating oil was always less than gasoline. Keep in mind there is about $.33/gal tax in NH. Gasoline here is $1.85.
States under the control of the Democrats, will raise taxes on gas also. California is a good example. It doesn’t tax by the gallon. It taxes on the dollar amount of the sale. It is to the States advantage to raise the price of gas. The average citizen will have to pay for socialists.
When the good Lord wants you it isn't going to make a bit of difference where you are, what you're doing, or what you're driving.
It’s taxes, in California.
Unleaded Stockpiles are running low and refineries are making Home Heating Oil right now. They can’t make both at the same time.
So sorry.
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