Another Plunge in 3-Month Rolling Average of Petroleum and Gasoline Usage

Townhall.com ^ | March 11, 2012 | Mike Shedlock

[Kaslin]

he following chart shows U.S. petroleum and gasoline usage for December-February compared with the same three months in prior years. Chart is courtesy of reader Tim Wallace.

Note that petroleum usage is back to December 1995 thru February 1996 levels. Gasoline usage is back to December 2001 thru February 2002 levels.

All data derived directly from the Data 10 section of the EIA download.

The daily average of each week in the listed month adds to the monthly total. Some months have four weeks others five, but over three months this tends to average out.

click on chart for sharper image

Contrary to popular belief, the decline in gasoline usage has little or nothing to do with cash-for clunkers or improved gas mileage in cars unless one fantasizes that gas mileage improvements started precisely in 2007.

Wallace comments "If this trend lasts for the rest of the year, Obama's stated goal of a 15% reduction in greenhouse gases based off 2005 numbers may be met this year instead of his 2015 goal."

Should that happen, I wonder how many will be happy with the economic result.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Disco is still used in China and Iran as a method of torture.

[GOPJ]

Gasoline prices will be down in time to benefit Obama’s election chances... wait and see.

And the press won’t notice.

Interesting take on the MSM - or as freeper ‘andrew’ wold say - the Democrat Media Complex...

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/07-03-2012/120708-arizona_sheriff_obama-0/

[familyop]

"when does the law of supply & demand kick in?.....storage facilities have to be drowning in oil"

A better question would ask where "does the law of supply and demand kick in?" See countries in Asia and elsewhere, buying more oil and fuels for manufacturing, transportation and the hundreds of millions of consumers becoming new drivers.

[DaxtonBrown]

Thanks Blam. I’ll be posting more with time on the Biflationary Index I’m creating. It comes out of the idea for the misery index,but not so skewed because we all know the unemployment and inflation numbers are crap.
So my index has Gold, Job Participation (not unemployment), interest rate minus inflation (real rate of return), Case Schiller in it to get a better idea where thingsare.

I think the gold number skews my index too much in favor of the early 50s, but the general shape of the chart doesn’t change. It shows with slid with Nixon, dived with Carter, came back out with Reagan through Clinton (really Gingrich), burpd on 911 and dived in 2005 on compassionate conservatism.

Both my index, and the oil numbers in the above article, show we tanked earlier than the 2008 crash. (Hint: that means they are predictive, not that you dumb hick illiterate conservatives could ever pick that up:)

[Chode]

my 2006 Pontiac didn't have one either but my new Hyundai does... go figure

[BooBoo1000]

I work in one of the largest Malls in Las Vegas. At 8PM/ there might be 20 cars in the parking lot, and by 10:00PM when my shift ends, we will be lucky to have 2 or 3 cars in the lot. This is not a Mom and Pop operation, but one of the largest Malls, anchored by Albertson’s. Also I notice no one has any extra money. No matter how much B/S is put out by the MSM, people are watching every nickel/ Also Las Vegas employment is in the tank. No Jobs and no prospects

[Rebelbase]

Disco still sucks.

[House Atreides]

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/09/the-gasoline-export-scam/
********************************************************

Well now, with a name like “Veterans Today Military and Foreign Affairs Journal” this link must lead us to a nice,conservative, pro-American and trustworthy source of correct information and opinion. So I go there and read the linked article and it is about as “truthful” and factual as most of the other articles it contains. I list below a handful of these article for your perusal. Ever hear of George Soros or the Communist Party USA? Those folks are certainly looking out for the best interests of our country, aren’t they?

Resisting Israeli Oppression Courageously
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/03/11/resisting-israeli-oppression-courageously/
The Successes & Failures of Occupy Movement
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/03/11/the-successes-failures-of-occupy-movement/
Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/03/04/let-your-life-be-a-friction-to-stop-the-machine/
9/11: Planes/No Planes and “Video Fakery”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/02/20/911-planesno-planes-and-video-fakery/

[dragnet2]

In the past 3 weeks, these are just some of the reasons/excuses gas prices are quite suddenly burning up your income.

___________________________________________________________________

Iran is going to take over the world.

The refineries need maintenance

The speculators are doing it

We're running out of oil

We have plenty

Americans are driving less, so we need to raise prices

The Chinese have millions of mopeds to fuel

There is a leak in a pipe in Moose Jaw Alaska

A rodent chewed through a line at the main pump station in Texas.

Demand is down but we are producing more however, our refineries have been and are being shut down

Prices will go to 6.75, but 3 days before the election, Obama will lower prices to 1.40 to ensure reelection

A school of endangered blowfish have been sucked into a pipe, and it takes time to get them out.

Iran has nukes

Unstable markets worldwide.

A big refinery fire

A small refinery fire

A refinery fire could possibly happen

New gas additives are being developed to make Americans even more stupid

They forgot to build a pipe

They don’t like pipes

Rich liberals want the price even higher.

Obama hates the oil industry

The oil industry hates Obama and are hoping this kills his reelection

Liberals want everyone ridding donkeys and bicycles to work as a sacrifice for the planet

We moved more armaments to the gulf because Iran is taking over the world

Wild money printing and massive deficits

Americans love high gas prices

Refinery margins are tight…They hardly make any money at all.

The masses have no idea how free market works.

It is being exported because we are making more than we use.

Demand has fallen

We need refinery upgrades and expansion

We are making more than we use so we have to sell it to the Chinese, (They have 1 billion mopeds to fuel , and need to go to work so they can send us more Communist products .

We have plenty of oil, so much so, we need to sell it abroad to keep prices low.

We have plenty of oil, so much so, we need to sell it abroad to keep prices high.

Barry intentionally pissed off the oil companies and seriously limited their profit

The population has increased

The less people drive the higher the price, so you need to drive more.

This is caused by warm weather.

It’s caused by cold weather.

We are importing less crude oil and even become an exporter of refined products.

High gas prices have created jobs and wealth in the US, so we need to export more oil.

High gas prices are good for the economy. When it reaches $6 per gallon, America will be back on track.

[EVO X]

Also I notice no one has any extra money.

Median household income has fallen over the last decade. It would seem to me that would contribute to less gas usage.

I've been driving somewhat less since the trouble started..

[X-spurt]

LOL.
Minnysoter also elected Jesse Ventura, Dayton and Al Franken.

Got the feeling any “cold air density drag” is more than offset by “cold air O2 density aiding combustion”. Maybe someone has data showing it requires more gasoline to run an engine in the Artic than at the Equator, but that is unlikely.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Obamanomics is working as planned. Destroying our economy.

[thackney]

Excess refined fuels are exported which props up the high Futures Market for domestic gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel.

How in the world is excess supply going to "prop up" price?

Gasoline prices are high for the same reason gold jewelry is high. The base material it is made from is high in price.

Domestic demand is down, but globally, petroleum demand is up. Since we import far more crude oil than we produce ourselves, we are quite tied to the global prices.

[X-spurt]

Unluckily, petroleum based fuels pricing is not as simple as that, mainly because everyone else on the glbe is tied to the same situation.

The best escape from being pegged to world pricing will be moving to Natural Gas as transportation fuels, because we have a very long term abundance of NG.

[Wissa]

Maybe someone has data showing it requires more gasoline to run an engine in the Artic than at the Equator, but that is unlikely.

I guess it's your choice on whether you want to do a simple google search or if you prefer to remain ignorant on this matter.

[TASMANIANRED]

Think how much gasoline could be saved if everyone collected unemployment.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-—— Hard to believe those were better days looking at that picture, but I’d like to go back...if there was no disco.-——

I was listening to The Kinks, “Low Budget,” back then. I’m thinking about downloading it. Happy days are here again.

[House Atreides]

LOL — and you’re right, those were “just some of the reasons/excuses” being put forth for the increased cost of gasoline.

[GeronL]

When nobody can afford gas, it will be celebrated as a great achievement

[Nowhere Man]

Me too - thought it was a cool way to handle the lines. Of course, there were always the a-holes with the wrong plate trying to get a few qallons. We lived in California then and took our RV back to PA to see family when the crisis hit. Lined up, waiting for gas, people were snarling "Why don't you go back home?" and things started to get nasty when I snarled back, "What the Hell do you think I'm trying to do?" This same mindset is going to be pounding on your door when TSHTF.

Maryland we referred to as "The Planet Maryland". Super provincial and dog-eat-dog. We talked with a Winnebago owner who ran out of gas heading for the state line - no one would sell him gas. State trooper took him to a gas station and ordered the owner to sell the guy enough gas to get across the state line. He did so - at $8.00 a gallon. Been back to PA many times since, but will not spend ONE FRIGGING DIME in Maryland.

Interesting story there. I'm not much of as Maryland fan although when my aunt moved to the Frederick area with her family for a couple of years, it wasn't a bad place. I was about 5 or 6, my 13 year old cousin took me for rides on his mini-bike at the construction site next to their apartment building. Still, with the exception of the rural parts, it is a very Democratic place. I'd try to pass through there if I can. We had a 1977 Mercury Cougar at that time, still have it, if I get my crap together, I'd like to restore it and get her back on the road.