Our local pump prices have been dropping to lows unseen in, what?, ten years?? Why?

Bovah

nwtrucker
reply to post by Bovah

 

Is that down much from, say, a month ago?

I'm hearing Texas is flat out booming in oil production, could that be a local phenomenon?

I can't speak for all of Texas, but I live in the "Texoma" area, and for the last 2-3 months it's been in the $2.90s.

I live in Wichita Falls it is at 2.76 in a couple of places.

I have known about the dropping in fall and rising in summer. I am surprised most of you don't know that.

That being said, it is at a five year low here at 3.19. I will have a party if it drops below 3.00.

Prices can vary even locally. In my area, you drive down route 40 into the wealthy county, within a mile, it suddenly rises 30 cents. Because all the 16 year old Lexus drivers can afford it.

So I can easily belive that if it is 3.19 here, it can be 2.99 somewhere else.

I think the oil manipulators haven't been given any excuses to tamper with the prices. Like a single refinery catching on fire in Brazil.

Here in Mi, it's hovering around 3.19 a gal. What I find more interesting, is the local news out of Lansing keeps reporting that it will probably be UNDER 3.00 around Christmas time. Hasn't been that low in a long time.

And why are they letting us know this?

If demand goes down wouldn't gas need to be higher to make up for what they are not selling? Unless of course the whole gig is manipulated. I am confused.
Firepiston

reply to post by nwtrucker


One of the biggest factors your missing is how the commodities market works... esp. something called a "vanity trade."

Back in 2008 a man named Gerry Altilio, Jr wanted to be the first man in history to pay $100 for a barrel of oil. back then the price per was hovering around the $90 mark...

Back then, the historic trade was a big deal. A competition broke out among traders, and the winner ended up paying $600 to be the first man to buy crude oil at $100 per barrel, a so-called "vanity trade." It was cool, kind of, or more like stunning, when oil then shot to a record $147 per barrel.

Read the whole story here

So high gas prices can all be put on this one mans shoulders... He manipulated the market all for the sake of 'Vanity"

A thing done simply to get his name in the record books... He got something else he didn't count on too... A 12 million dollar fine by the SEC.

So to break things down oil, thus gas prices have been kept artificially high by traders, not by demand... true demand is on the rise in other parts of the globe but falling here in the US... and Oil prices are set in Oklahoma as a world standard.

If you and I were commodities traders and seeing a falling demand for oil in the US... we'd simply move our money to better investments. The last ag report I saw a couple months back said food prices are expected to raise 40% over the next three years... So as a trader corn and soy is where I would be moving my money...away from oil causing falling prices across the board....

does that help clear things up for ya?




BTW today in Cortex CO. gas was selling for 3.63 a gal two weeks ago I paid 2.79 a gal in Wichita KS but Wichita is closer to OKC than is Cortex... shipping accounts for cost too ya know

if you think it is dear for oil in america come to the highlands of scotland $ 11 a gallon and the same for a packet of smokes and a bottle of mouth wash this morning $ 5 rip off britian

With Thanksgiving coming up and everybody going to be on the road I'll bet it gets jacked back up near the 3.75 $ range. Load up while you can.

reply to post by webedoomed


Makes sense, you had and have the local oil going for you. We have two local refineries. They run on Alaskan crude, I believe.

Washington also has higher than average state taxes as well.

I'm sure there are local fluctuations. Locally, the prices jump during the turn-arounds at the refineries when they shut down to for repairs and upgrades.

Texas is down in prices as well, eh? My understanding is there are over 3000 oil companies in Texas...nothing like competition and supply.

10 Years ago $1.59
2003 Gas prices
This morning $3.12
Don't get me started on buildimg materials versus wages

Hunting season next week so I see $.30 increase in the next day or 2 and thanksgiving will addprobably $.20 to that so close to $3.75. I'm glad mines all tax deductable

the local news out of Lansing keeps reporting that it will probably be UNDER 3.00 around Christmas time. why are they letting us know this?

Isn't it obvious? The powers that be want to ensure that Christmas sales are strong, so they are lowering gas prices so people will feel like they have more money to spend?

$3.07 for regular unleaded at Sunoco in N.J. I buy strictly Sunoco, official fuel of NASCAR! It really is good gas.

reply to post by HardCorps


An interesting story!

I was aware that the prices, at least for the last few years, would go up in the Asian markets-due to futures trading by China and India- and drop when the markets were open in North America where that market was "softer".

A facebook comment a couple months ago stuck with me re. a Saudi Prince stating fracking was and would hurt Saudi Arabia. I chuckled and thought maybe they should send a big cheque to the environmentalists to keep the local development in check.

Market forces do have a say in prices, to a degree, from what I can see.

I guess my concern is in the area of the world economy and is this drop a reflection of a continued down turn.

I'd rather pay more for gas and have the economy doing better than the reverse...if that makes any sense..LOL

reply to post by Mikeultra


Is that "3.07" price a drop from the last few months?

My understanding is Pa. shale NG is going to go into N.Y. at a far cheaper rate than current prices. If people start converting from fuel oil burners to NG that would take pressure off of the pump prices nation-wide, at a guess.

A drop in Natural gas prices might also revive the conversion of fleets to CNG, a fairly cheap process, from my understanding.

reply to post by mikell


Where do you live? I must be getting senile in my old age. I don't recall gas being that cheap that recently.

I guess it might be partially due to my being a trucker and the diesel prices jumping far faster than gas- I suspect it was due to the trucking industry not being likely to effect elections as gas prices would.

jjkenobi
reply to post by nwtrucker

 

Ten years!?!? What country are you in? I 2008 when Obama took office gas prices were averaging $1.87. That was five years ago. Now that it gets close to $3 peple get all excited. That's still a huge increase.

this is socialized "big oil"....how else can Exxon earn 3 billion a month, just in profits alone, at the same time the taxpayers are subsidizing them with millions of dollars...

FRACKING

Pure and simple. Fracking has caused the US to become an actual oil exporter since 2008. When coupled with Canada's fracking, North America now produces oil on a scale with many OPEC members.

Seriously.

When fracking first became realistic ~2007, The major refineries started updating their pipeline networks across the US. This has helped reduced the bottlenecks at Houston Roads and Baton Rouge. Much of the USA's oil is now piped from the terminal in Cushing Oklahoma. The pipes were originally designed to bring oil INTO the central US from it's southern ports, but now the oil is being piped OUT through TX and LA, and exported to central and south America.

This is absolutely KILLING the economies of Venezuela and Mexico, who both lived to supply the US market. Now for the first time in 75 years, US product is superior (Texas Light Sweet Crude is the purest on the market) and cheaper than other regional sellers.

IF this continues, oil prices will begin to soften globally over the next 3 years.

The US now is the 3rd most populous nation on earth (!) AND is poised to not only supply its own oil but crush the developing world's leading export....

First, the Bakken formation, discovered in the Dakotas in the past decade is the largest oil field in the US. Google "oil sands" for similar deposits in Canada and Utah.

Basically, America is turning into the next Saudi Arabia.

It's the left's worst nightmare. They are doing everything they can to keep it out of the press. But the market forces are simply unstoppale.

reply to post by jimmyx


Just playing "devil's advocate' here,what is this "subsidy" that the oil companies get? Just how much of this gov't costs via taxes.

If I was among the largest companies in the rarest of markets-oil- which is universally used daily- I'd expect to make that much "profit".

You quote Exxon profits, what about gov't "profits" from oil?? My understanding of it is the oil companies make a fraction of what the various gov'ts make on oil. Drilling sites, transportation fees, and end-user taxes make the real culprit governments, not oil companies from what I see.

Throw in the indirect monies flowing to gov't coffers via income taxes from the millions working in the industry and the biggest beneficiary is Government. Oil companies a distant second, from what I can see.

Even gov't socialists know better than strangling oil profits as it kills their take even worse.

Then again, what do I know? I'm getting a bit tired of every single move oil companies make being spun into some evil act. Some? Yes! All? no freaking way!

Here in the goober state its fluctuated +/- 5 cents in the pasr 3 months but stays around $3.29 in my area.

reply to post by tovenar


Here in CO. several counties voted to ban fracking...

But the Governor has threatened to sue any local governments or agencies who attempt to ban or limit fracking within the state...

All I can say is despite the inherent dangers with fracking.
Meet the Town That's Being Swallowed by a Sinkhole

The gains seem to outweigh...at least on a revenue basis

reply to post by nwtrucker


Apparently, my ten years ago memory is faulty re gas prices. I assign it up to old age and being, in those days, far more stuck on diesel prices than gas.

They went up far earlier than gas prices and not being a rocket scientist, messed the time-line up.

Sorry about that.

So let me amend that to, say, 5 years ago, rather than 10 years.

It still worries me from a world economy view. If it's stable, then lower prices could be a boost for the world economy, an incentive for local development, car sales etc.

If it's due to a continued economic decline, it's a whole different story.

A bit of both? The jury still out? I don't know.