$5.00 per gallon

[charles roybal]

ABC new just reported we may be paying $5.00 per gallon by Memorial Day!!!!!!!! My "Cobra Funs" will be limited this spring/summer maybe to one fill up per month.

[cwhoofgator]

ABC new just reported we may be paying $5.00 per gallon by Memorial Day!!!!!!!! My "Cobra Funs" will be limited this spring/summer maybe to one fill up per month.

Yeh, what a bunch of BS this oil thing is turning out to be.

[rponfick]

The speculators will rule the day again. One of these day we will learn from the past.

Ralph.

[Kasmodean]

This could all be fixed by a simple regulation, but the free-market types would hate it. Pass regulation so commodities can only be traded by companies/individuals that actually take delivery. Stop speculators who have no intention of taking delivery from participating.

[cobraearl]

Glen Beck quoted a Financial article today that said it MIGHT go to $10.00.

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Still going to drive the C0bra as much as I want.

[prophet]

I am going to drive it as much as I want as well. However, I am thinking I might switch the drag car over to methanol. $2.20/gal for the pure stuff around here. Then again, diesel to get to the track is the biggest expense anyway.

[Joe]

The big block guys are going to be hurting if it goes to $10... At least, it would hurt me!

[joyridin']

Well, we all knew this day was coming sooner or later. Sad it had to be sooner than later. If I had to guess, the prices will shoot up, then drop a small amount again like they have in the past. When gas hit $4/gal, everybody went ballistic. They dropped the prices to just below $3/gal, and everybody was happy not realizing we were really paying under $2/gal previously before it went to 4/gal.

[OttawaFFRer]

In Europe gas prices are almost $7 a gallon.

I'm paying over 4.75 a gallon for premium here in Canada, I don't feel any pain in the wallet at this point. It's mostly tax anyway.

[Big-Foot]

Ya know what... If paying an extra $10 a fill up is at all fueling the fires over there in the middle east (getting all those b@st@rds at each others throats) - then isn't it really a small price to pay?

But what do I know... I drive a Hybrid and an electric Motorcycle!

[riptide motorsport]

There's no reason for it to gO up yet , the gas we're buying now has been purchased momths ago, n this is BS!!

[Kasmodean]

The price has to go up immediately because the gas companies are using the profits they make today to buy the gas they will use next month at todays prices.

[RonSchofield]

There's no reason for it to gO up yet , the gas we're buying now has been purchased momths ago, n this is BS!!

Where are you getting that information? Our gas stations only last days before they have to be replenished from the refinery. If you are talking about oil and not gas, then oil is a commodity and it's value changes rapidly as you know. It's value is based on what someone is willing to pay for it. I've seen oil stored locally shipped to the eastern seaboard because the refinery made money selling product they had previously paid for reselling it.

[riptide motorsport]

yes
im referring to crude, that was implied.

[PaulW]

For me living in Canada the price of gas is always higher. Having said that the price of a gallon of gas has never figured in my decision to build the car and will never ever contribute to how much I do or don't drive it.

[ClemsonS197]

This could all be fixed by a simple regulation, but the free-market types would hate it. Pass regulation so commodities can only be traded by companies/individuals that actually take delivery. Stop speculators who have no intention of taking delivery from participating.

Yep. Almost 2 years ago Congress hauled a bunch of experts in and were told exactly what to do to get oil prices in check and remove speculation from the market. Then oil prices crashed, and all was forgotten. Congress has done exactly zero of the recommendations, and has done 1 thing the exact opposite (banning drilling).


Regarding $5/gallon in the US, it's junk. This is the same Chicken Little syndrome that happened last time. Speculators jump in to make a quick buck, and oil prices go through the roof. The fact that Saudi Arabia has 5 million barrels per day (bpd) of spare capacity and offered to supplement any or all of Libya's 1.6 M bpd production shows that this price rise is nothing but speculation. When this comes crashing down, It'll be interesting to see who is holding the high dollar crude. Last time, Goldman Sachs had billions in holdings that were high dollar and they kept releasing statements claiming $150/barrel oil, then $175, then $200. They sold all their positions, and soon after oil crashed. Given the world economy and what many think is a Chinese economic bubble, I'd bet that we as a planet cannot support $150/barrel oil.

[Big-Foot]

Watching the resale value of my Hybrid grow on a daily basis... I had thought of trading it to get a different one.. Looks like that will wait until the gas price peaks..

[Cobra Cory]

There is no possible way that Ob@m@ is not going to dip into the reserves to keep prices away from $5.00 per gallon. The economy crashed when gas went up last time. He just can't let double dip recession happen. You know there are going to be people screaming to drill Alaska again and to step up drilling in the gulf despite the hazards. If $5.00 appears then a major crisis is going to happen and people will completely stop spending money on hard goods, and entertainment, and only buy gas and food. BTW exactly why aren't we getting free Iraqi oil?

[calbullet]

I saw gas at 3.99 today. it's getting higher by the week.

[riptide motorsport]

Well Ron, let's see if your gas, oil, crude, what ever you care to label it, drops as quickly at the stations as it has in the markets or as quickly As it rose at those stations!!! Somehow I doubt it. Steven

[OttawaFFRer]

Paid $5.03 for premium yesterday up here in the good old north...and we have lots of oil.
Personally, I don't notice it. Now let's consider the price of beer, that is a travesty.

As far as things getting more peaceful in the middle east, forget about that...we should pull our troops out and close the border down.

The price of a barrel is set by the market, and as long as we use the stock market to play day trader it will cost us to buy gas. It wasn't a $5 gallon that made the market crash, it was banks and investment companies looking for a bail out. Gas suddenly dropped because the market fell out.

Take half your market holdings, put them in gold or good old cash...the market will dip again within the next 12 months, the dow will have to have to build itself up from under 10k again.

Just my personal opinion of course, and I'm not a smart man.

[RonSchofield]

Well Ron, let's see if your gas, oil, crude, what ever you care to label it, drops as quickly at the stations as it has in the markets or as quickly As it rose at those stations!!! Somehow I doubt it. Steven

Gasoline and oil are different and people have control over the price of gasoline, but not so much over oil, at least not directly. The price of gasoline is a factor of supply and demand. You and other people can reduce the demand which will lower the price. I take it from your comments that you don't believe in the free market and you want government regulations over pricing of products like gasoline. I live in a province where the price of gasoline is regulated and set once a week. The price is set so the gas stations make a set amount of profit margin. The price is based on the current and future price of oil. One thing that isn't regulated is the wholesale market. So a wholesaler can make or lose money in a volatile market. No one is in business to have regulated losses so there are circumstances are that a wholesaler can refuse to sell gasoline to a station if they lose too much money and th erefore there is no gasoline to sell at all to consumers. This has happened in a regulated market and will happen again.

If I am wrong about your position and don't want the government involved in regulating gasoline prices, what would you like to happen?

And yes, the prices won't come down as quickly if people continue to accept higher prices and continue to use as much gasoline as with a lower price. It's called the law of supply and demand.

[RonSchofield]

The fact that Saudi Arabia has 5 million barrels per day (bpd) of spare capacity and offered to supplement any or all of Libya's 1.6 M bpd production shows that this price rise is nothing but speculation.

The problem is that Libya has light sweet crude which is what all the refineries in Europe are designed to refine. Saudi Arabia has heavy sour crude which isn't a direct replacement. Light sweet crude has lower rates of sulfur. Sometimes things are not as simple as the media makes them out to be.

[OttawaFFRer]

On the bright side...the US dollar is falling hard against the Canadian. I saved $200 this week on my roadster. I was planning to pay the balance on Tuesday!

Should I gamble my $200 to wait a few more days...

[ClemsonS197]

Gasoline and oil are different and people have control over the price of gasoline, but not so much over oil, at least not directly. The price of gasoline is a factor of supply and demand. You and other people can reduce the demand which will lower the price.

Both crude oil and refined gasoline are traded as commodities. The margins on gasoline change depending on demand, but they are always tied to the raw cost of crude. We could cut our gasoline consumption in half, and if oil stays at $100/barrel, the cost isn't going to change much.

[ClemsonS197]

The problem is that Libya has light sweet crude which is what all the refineries in Europe are designed to refine. Saudi Arabia has heavy sour crude which isn't a direct replacement. Light sweet crude has lower rates of sulfur. Sometimes things are not as simple as the media makes them out to be.

The Saudi's offered to replace any missing production from Libya with like kind. If you listen to the media, then you thin $10 gas is coming this summer. I was listening to what Saudi Arabia said. I am not a Saudi Arabian Oil industry insider, so I don't know if they back up their promise...

The world has a safety net in the form of Saudi Arabia’s spare capacity. Pressure will be on the Saudis to make good on the assurances they reportedly gave to European countries late last week that they could fill shortfalls in the oil supply. Saudi representatives have said that they have the right kind of light, easy-to-refine crude that would replace the lost Libyan exports.

[JJ'snakepit]

There is no possible way that Ob@m@ is not going to dip into the reserves to keep prices away from $5.00 per gallon. The economy crashed when gas went up last time. He just can't let double dip recession happen. If $5.00 appears then a major crisis is going to happen and people will completely stop spending money on hard goods, and entertainment, and only buy gas and food.

He could and he should, but I am convinced that is exactly what he wants to happen.. The stage is set...JJ

[joyridin']

The last I heard, and this was from a person that works at a refinery in this area of the country, was they were only running at about 75% capacity. Right now, there is a huge excess of gas and oil. A lot of it is due to the weather and people have been driving less.

He said they have about double the stockpiles of what they normally have, and it is growing due to the price increasing. The speculators are going to take it up the rear if it continues. Fine by me.

[pdimarco65]

Considering that I drive my roadster about 750 miles a year, it will cost less than $100 more to run it than it did last year. I am more concerned about commuting to my job 30 miles away.

[ClemsonS197]

The last I heard, and this was from a person that works at a refinery in this area of the country, was they were only running at about 75% capacity. Right now, there is a huge excess of gas and oil. A lot of it is due to the weather and people have been driving less.

Refinery utilization can be found here:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_..._dcu_nus_m.htm

Stockpiles are here:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_..._dcu_nus_w.htm

That website is extremely informative if you want to look up anything oil/gas related.

[ClemsonS197]

RBOB Gasoline futures are trading at $2.95 today, which puts pump prices around $3.50-$3.60 for a national average in a week or two. Left Coast folks will likely see their 87 octane go north of $4/gallon. Hooray for speculators!

[Big-Foot]

Just under $4 a gallon hit this area today...

[The Stig]

The thing is, as long as people just sit around complaining to each other about it, instead of complaining to their congressmen, senators, govenors, etc., nothing is going to change. It's only when these government ilk begin to fear that they won't be re-elected that they grow some balls and at least act like they're standing up to the oil companies.

And I'm not sure who said it, but this absolutely can be controlled, if the oil commodity trades were limited to those who actually take delivery, and keep the speculators out of play.

Of course that would mean that the Government would have to stand up against Wall Street as well. And we know that isn't going to happen, because the people who run Wall Street, are actually higihly integrated with the Government...

The people of this country are rarely the ones that the government goes out of their way to protect. (Unless it just happens to turn out that way). And then they (politicians) take credit for it.

Gas Prices have been way too high for 2 or 3 years now. But no one will do anything about it. The United States uses the highest volume of crude than any place in the world. But does volume translate into lower prices. Some would argue that they do. But I would argue harder that it could work more in our favor if our politicians and/or leaders had a spine. Venezuela pays 20 cents a gallon for gas. The same gas that they sell to the US, that we are paying almost 4 dollars a gallon for.

[ClemsonS197]

Venezuela pays 20 cents a gallon for gas. The same gas that they sell to the US, that we are paying almost 4 dollars a gallon for.

But that's because Venezuela produces more crude than they consume, so they can nationalize it and make us pay for their consumption. From what I've read, the US taxes the crude coming out of our land very little compared to other nations.

[geoffav]

Considering that I drive my roadster about 750 miles a year, it will cost less than $100 more to run it than it did last year. I am more concerned about commuting to my job 30 miles away.

Same here. My wife drives a minimum of 80 miles per day 5-6 days a week. Gas prices hit me hard.

[Gollum]

BTW exactly why aren't we getting free Iraqi oil?

Can I get an amen?

I always find it funny when someone brings in the whole "supply and demand" argument when it comes to oil. Oil is a requirement for society to operate as we've built it. No matter what shipping containers need to get where they're going. States use oil for a certain percentage of their electricity. The list goes on and on. We can't just lower our demand over night and see the prices drop. And in reality, because there's no easy alternative, the prices won't change. As we become less dependent on oil the people that are dependent will just pay up the profit loss of the oil companies. IF the whole supply and demand theory worked for oil, then it'd apply to electricity as well. During the hot summer months cost per kW would skyrocket, but they don't. The price per kW stays wonderfully stable, and only gets upset when the cost of goods changes from economic shifts.

If someone in their 20's without a college education can figure this stuff out...

I try not to pretend to be smart, but I also know there's certain things in this world that are beyond the average person's control. It's not a whole lot different than the price of diamonds. A small minority holding something that everyone wants/needs will never be a fair market exchange.