Pulaski

The price of crude dropped a couple of dollars a barrel last week, but the retail price of gasoline at my favorite BP station went from $3.109 to $3.259! I hope that the decline in the underlying price of oil will soon fee through to the pumps, as, based on the $3.109 price, that should take us down below $3.

I will be topping off my truck and car for Christmas no later than 12/18 and I hope that'll see me through to the New Year.

Michael

Historically, Brent and WTI crude has been trading near the same price but when the recession hit, WTI became up to $25 per barrel cheaper than Brent. Apparently the oil producers were have difficulty getting WTI to the market (storage facilities in Oklahoma were at capacity) so wherever WTI was able to be distributed in the US, prices at the pump were lower that had access to WTI. The price of WTI also influences the price of Canadian crude since it competes for distribution with WTI which has also dropped and the US market is heavily dependent on Canadian crude. Then over a year ago, it appears that the oil producers figured out a way to get WTI to the market by reversing pipeline flow and using trains to transport the oil and WTI rose from about $85 per barrel to the $100-$110 per barrel range and was trading near the same price as Brent and pump prices rose throughout the US.

Then a few months ago, it appears the distribution bottlenecks for WTI again started occurring driving the price of WTI and Canadian crude lower and prices at the pump started dropping again throughout the US. Currently WTI is near a 2 year low at about $92 per barrel but Brent has remained stubbornly high at about $107 per barrel but recently has moved up to $111 per barrel. So even though WTI is near it's recent low, it appears the recent rise of Brent has influenced the price at the pump.

Although Brent is the benchmark for prices around the world, the price at the pump for the US market is much more complex than most other countries due to the WTI and Canadian distribution bottlenecks. When you indicated that the price of crude recently dropped a couple of dollars, you were probably referring to WTI because Brent went in the opposite direction and rose and it was likely the price rise of Brent is what caused prices at the pump to rise.

Pulaski

You are correct. Gas prices east of the Mississippi are linked primarily to the price of Brent crude, so that would be why the price of gas went up.

Michael

It's strange that the price of WTI seems to even effect prices at the pump in California since there isn't any a major pipeline for WTI to California (mostly trains) and very little Canadian crude is refined in California due to the high sulfur content since most refineries can't handle that much sulfur in the crude and/or the scrubbing necessary to keep the sulfur out of the air. When WTI was the same price as Brent, prices at the pump in California were about 50 cents per gallon higher than currently.

Michael

Interesting article about Los Angeles Jet Fuel Hits 7-Month High as Tankers Seen Exporting shows what can happen even though gasoline prices are much lower than 7 months ago. Just like when WTI crude distribution is working the way oil producers want it to work, prices rise. Now it appears that oil refiners have found a way to increase the price of jet fuel which should eventually increase the price of airline tickets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-1...exporting.html

Bob

Well it soared up a bit for Thanksgiving, as expected...then dipped down a bit on Monday to $3.25G at the local bulk place and remained while everywhere else seems to be either going up or down depending on the station.

So it's $3.27- $3.39 going through town, for the cheap stuff.

Bob

So anyone else noticing a bit of a fluctuation in prices recently?

Cheapest around is at a bulk store a few towns over at $3.27, local place is $3.31 and everywhere else ranges from that to $3.65 all within a couple towns of each other.

SultanOfSwing

I've noticed that. Yesterday it was $3.45 and at the same station this morining it was $3.29 again.

Pulaski

It's been $3.22 +/- 3¢ since mid December at the BP stations I use, and 1-2¢ less at Hess, Citco, etc. Then last weekend, two stations in one town near where I live, suddenly jacked up the price to $3.34-$3.35. 30-60 miles away, other BP stations I use regularly remained unchanged.

scrubbedexpat099

Under $3, now up to $3.10

Propane has doubled.

lansbury

Our two nearest stations just raised it 5 cents today. Now $3.16 a gallon.

Pulaski

I heard someone else say, locally, that the price of delivered propane had skyrocketed. I paid less than $14 to have my empty gas bottle filled from the tank at a local gas(oline) station, which is about what I have paid for the past five years.

scrubbedexpat099

I have 2 tanks, 1000 and 500.....

Pulaski

We have piped natural gas, and TV/internet cable, ..... but no access to "city water" or a sewer system.

sir_eccles

Are we still on winter blend?