Gasoline Prices Rising to New High Levels?

The chart below shows the average retail prices of gasoline over the last 5 years during the first 5 months of the year. Apparently an increase in seasonal demand during this period generally causes retail gasoline prices to increase during the first part of the year, but this year there may be some additional factors including:  1) Increased prices of crude due to cold weather arriving late and OPEC production cuts, 2) Demand is running high relative to seasonal norms, 3) Refinery maintenance and some unplanned refinery refinery outages have reduced gasoline production in recent weeks and 4) Gasoline imports have declined due to a higher demand in Europe.

At 255.9 cents per gallon as of March 12, 2007 prices are now 19.3 cents per gallon higher than at this time last year. In California prices are now at 306.8 cents per gallon, 53.6 cents per gallon above last year’s price.  How high will prices go this year?

Chart and comments adapted from This Week In Petroleum, March 14, 2007. See this reference for more detailed analysis.

Comments

[amazingdrx]

I really think this trend will force US to concentrate on domestic energy production. And forget playing world police force.

That will bring on a larger civil war in the middle east, eventually dropping oil prices. All sides will need to raise cash to buy munitions and hire mercenaries (in the case of the Saudi/sunni side). And that means maximizing oil production at all costs.

I hope it stops fuel farming in its tracks! Only plugin hybrids will really save consumers money. Fuel farming even raises food prices, for a double economic hit on struggling families.

[Paul Dietz]

I hope it stops fuel farming in its tracks! Only plugin hybrids will really save consumers money. Fuel farming even raises food prices, for a double economic hit on struggling families.

Don't worry, when cellulosic ethanol takes off we'll convert rain forest trees instead of grain to ethanol. [/irony]

[Gregor]

This makes it all the more important to get electric vehicles or alternative energy vehicles on the road as soon as possible. The good news to this is that if the car manufacturers are on the ball, they will be forced down this road or nobody will buy their vehicles. Who can afford to run an SUV or a gas guzzling vehicle.

And if the oil companies had any brains they would see that by jamming the consumer with these high prices, it is going to force us towards conservation and new ideas. They will be the losers in the end. They can do a cash grab now or they can lower the price and sustain themselves for a longer period of time. The day is coming when the oil companies will pay a price for their greed. When the public can buy a car that doesn't need their fuel, we will just grin and give them the famous salute (if you know what i mean).

[Harvey D.]

Something between $4 and $6/gallon would be very positive for locally produced alternative fuels + PHEVs + BEVs + US economy.

Oil import would drop drastically and so would US hugh trade deficit. (if the battery packs + PHEVs + BEVs are built in America.

The progressive reduction in GHG would be another plus.

[petr]

if we went to solar energy tomorrow.
the powers that be would still try to control
access to the middle east. - because strategically you can deny power to others.

[Beek]

petr, how does US control access to the ME? You mean by paying $60 a barrell for oil that is extracted in KSA and shipped to New Orleans at a cost of only $4 a barrell?

If US is controlling ME oil, why is it being ripped off $56 a barrell?

[amazingdrx]

Cellulosic ethanol cheap or able to provide over 10% of current liquid fuel use? Very unlikely.

OPEC will fall apart once US troops leave the middle east. Let the sunnis and shiia fight it out. The Saudis and Iranians will be selling all the oil they can pump as fast as possible to raise cash for their war.

That means the rest of OPEC will have to pump up production too, to meet their debt payments as oil prices drop. It's a house of cards upheld by pro-multinational oil corporation bushwackin' foreign policy.

The war in iraq keeps oil prices high, and that benefits the friends of this administration. High prices, record profits for big oil. Simple.

[Nick Smith]

The current insanity in gasoline pump prices is nothing more than collusion between the oil companies to fatten profits for shareholders. Keep in mind that world crude oil prices have been much higher than today, yet we are paying some of the highest prices ever, so don't lay all the blame on crude oil prices and the oil cartel.

Brazil has been running passenger vehicles on pure ethanol for decades. It's true that because of the high boiling point of ethanol, pure ethanol cannot be used in the northern climates with low temperatures, but is sure as heck can be used in the southern states. What are we waiting for?

Nick

[Ira D. York]

They must be planning another 400 Million Dollar retirement with the price of gasoline
going up as high as it is.
Will it ever end?

Ira D. York

[D.Wentzel]

High crude price, refinery maintenance - I must be too simple minded to fully understand all of this HOGWASH. Pure and simple the market is being manipulated for RECORD profit taking at the expense of the people of this country.

First it was hurricanes that sent us into this tailspin, now it's everything but. Do we need to diversify - YOU BET we do. But what do we do in the meantime....it's so simple yet not a single person or organization with the power to reach the masses will take it on. BOYCOTT WORKS. A simple Boycott of Exxon Mobile would bring Exxon to its knees inside of 60 days. Buy all the fuel you want from anyone else - you know it's going to be available in any quantity you want as long as you are willing to pay the price. But that's all it would take to get things back in line. Too bad there's not enough red-blooded Americans left out there to do it....I can GUARANTEE you that I won't be buying a drop from Exxon until fuel is back to $2.00 a gallon. How about you?

[Ray Greene]

Low Gas prices

www.lowgasprices.org

The Global Coalition for Low Gasoline Prices

THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO REDUCE GASOLINE PRICES AT THE PUMP

CREATE A GASOLINE PRICE WAR

By: C. Ray Greene, III (May 7, 2007)

Do you want to pay a lower price for gasoline at the pump? Well, the fact is that you will play a big part in reducing gasoline prices by simply adhering to the plan outlined below at absolutely no cost to you.

The consensus of economic experts is that the price of gasoline at the pump will escalate to $4.00 per gallon before year-end if we consumers do not take immediate and ongoing preventable measures designed to lower gasoline prices.

We, Millions of United Consumers of Gasoline, have the power to control the price of gasoline at the pump by forcing a price war between the large, super profitable, oil companies.

My name is C. Ray Greene, III, a resident of Ocala, Florida. I am 55 years of age and a semi-retired land developer. I earned a degree in Business Administration (Economics, Accounting and Finance) from Florida State University (1976). I attended the Nova University Law School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

I am currently taking an active roll to execute a carefully planned strategy to reduce and maintain lower gasoline prices throughout the United States and abroad. Acting together as a consumer coalition, I sincerely believe we will accomplish this endeavor.

I think gasoline priced at $1.50 - $1.75 per gallon is reasonable. The price is currently $2.98 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $2.00 - $2.25, we need to take aggressive action to educate them that BUYERS control the marketplace... not sellers. With the price of gasoline rising each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see a decline in gasoline prices is if we hit the four largest oil companies in the pocketbook by not purchasing gasoline from them! Moreover, we can do it WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we rely on our vehicles for transportation, we cannot just stop buying gasoline. However, we CAN have an impact on gasoline prices if we all act together to force a gasoline price war between the oil companies.

*HERE IS THE PLAN*

DO NOT PURCHASE ANY GASOLINE from any of the four largest oil companies, EXXON/MOBIL, CHEVRON/TEXACO, CONACO/PHILLIPS and BP. Make a conscience decision to purchase gasoline only from smaller indepedent oil companies. Once the sales volumes of the BIG 4 companies decline, they will be forced to reduce their gasoline prices at the pump. Once they lower their prices, the other (large and small) oil companies will follow suit in order to compete in the market place.

Literally millions of consumers must participate in this plan for it to work. THE PLAN IS SIMPLE. Below is an explanation of how simple it is for all of us, working together as a consumer coalition, to reach millions of consumers who must make a personal commitment to not purchase gasoline from the four largest oil companies that make $Billions in profits at our expense.

I am sending this message to 30 people. If each recipient sends this message to at least ten more people (30 x 10 =300 people). These 300 people send it to at least ten more people (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on. By the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. When these three million people pass this message to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! Once this message is forwarded one level further, you guessed it............ THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE, UNITED AS A COALITION, to force oil companies to reduce gasoline prices at the pump. In other words, we will create a gasoline price war between the oil companies.

How much time will it take for all of us to contact a potential of 300 MILLION people? Once each of us forwards this plan to at least ten people within one day of receiving it, it is conceivable that 300 MILLION people will have read this plan within the next 8 days!

(30 x 10 x10 x 10 x10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 300,000,000 people)

IN ORDER FOR YOU TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, YOU MUST FORWARD THIS PLAN TO 10 OR MORE RECIPIENTS. TAKE ACTION NOW. WHEN GAS PRICES DROP, YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU PLAYED A PART IN MAKING IT HAPPEN!

Acting together, we will make a difference. All that is required is for each of us to forward this message to at least 10 people, and then, DO NOT purchase gasoline from EXXON/MOBIL, CHEVRON/TEXACO, CONACO/PHILLIPS or BP.

It is likely that we will not see an immediate drop in gasoline prices once we stop buying gasoline from the BIG 4 oil companies. These four giant oil companies have “staying power” = MONEY. Nevertheless, they do not have unlimited cash reserves.

Accordingly, if every consumer of gasoline will participate in this plan and remain persistent, we will eventually see lower gasoline prices at the pump.

IMPORTANT SPECIAL NOTE: In order for me to monitor and disseminate the results of this campaign, I request that you do the following:

Please include my e-mail address ( [email protected] ) as one of the 10 or more persons to whom you forward this message. The data collected from the forwarded messages that I receive will assist me in making a calculation as to the total number of persons who receive this message over the course of the next two weeks. I will e-mail the result (the total number of persons who receive a copy of this message) to all of the e-mail addresses included in the e-mails forwarded to my e-mail address. Then, in about two weeks, you will receive an e-mail from me advising you of the total number of persons who will have received a copy of this message.

LET’S GET ROLLING!

Sincerely,

Ray

C. Ray Greene, III - Organizer
The Global Coalition for Low Gasoline Prices
P.O. Box 1956
Ocala, FL 34478-1956

E-Mail: [email protected]

Fax: (352) 690-7195

The Global Coalition for Low Gasoline Prices is currently engaged in the formal non-profit organization registration process. The purpose of The Global Coalition for Low Gasoline Prices is to unite, educate and inform gasoline consumers about issues regarding gasoline pricing, where to purchase relatively inexpensive gasoline in your neighborhood and ways to keep gasoline prices in check. Dissemination of information will occur by means of web site newsletters. An interactive information web site is currently under construction and will be available for your use in the very near future. You will receive notification once the web site becomes operational.

Please forward this page to at least 10 e-mail recipients including my e-mail address: [email protected]

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Check out this new site
www.gaslimit.com
You can actually cap your cost of gasoline

[sue]

ICELAND IS THE FIRST COUNTRY TO BE TOTALLY GREEN. THEY BEGAN IN THE SEVENTIES AND ARE A VERY SMART COUNTRY. THEY USE HYDROGEN GEOTHERMAL POWER AND THERE IS NOT ANY POLLUTION WITH HYDROGEN. IT'S AMAZING WHAT NON GREEDY COUNTRIES CAN DO. THEY ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON OIL AT ALL.

[Bob Wallace]

Do you know the difference between the geography and population of Iceland and, say, France or Brazil or the US?

Little things like lots of geothermal bubbling right out of the earth and massive amounts of hydro potential along with a very small population.

And - please unlock the caps key.

Posting in all caps is considered SHOUTING and considered impolite.

[Kit P]

“THEY ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON OIL AT ALL.”

Are you sure sue? The politicos of Iceland have a plan to be independent by 2050 but the present trend for importing oil and coal is going the other direction.

They are also building new hydroelectric to power their new aluminum mills. Have you ever seen one of those? Since almost all of the trees were cut down long ago allowing the top soil to wash away, why not finish off the place.

If you define greed by the number of cars per driver and per capita GDP, Iceland is #1.

Clearly by any measure, the people of Iceland have demonstrated that they are a hardy and rugged population. And what happens when energy and a stable government are used to make a society wealthy? That society wants to protect the environment.

[Clee]

Iceland may use hydropower for electricity and geothermal for heating, but for transportation, they use oil, and lots of it. Iceland uses only 8% less oil per capita than the US and more per capita than any European country.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con_tho_bar_dai_percap-thousand-barrels-daily-per-capita

[Kit P]

What's with Singapore?

Keep in mind that oil is used for more transportation.

[Clee]

I see references to Singapore having a large oil refinery capacity compared to their small population. The implication would seem to be that they use a lot of oil to run the refineries (and they export most of the refined products), but I do not see that directly stated anywhere.

[Clee]

Also mention of Singapore being a major Asian transportation hub requiring lots of jet fuel.
http://www.ieej.or.jp/aperc/2006pdf/Outlook2006//ER_Singapore.pdf

[Kit P]

Thanks for the info Clee. When you dig a little deeper, the answer is often different than the apparent answer.

Efficiency is a measure of how much work or energy is used to accomplish a task.

Sue wrote, “GREEDY COUNTRIES”

Most prosperous countries are very efficient, have high literacy, and stable governments that promote free expression. There are two parameters that set the United States above the rest of the world, generosity and stewardship of the environment. A few years ago I read a study out of Switzerland that ranked countries. What was news worthy is that Finland emerged as #1.

So what is Finland doing differently. Nothing actually. The way of calculating the answer was changed. The amount of food to feed the world by Iowa farmers was capped at 1.06 while the amount of fuel they used in their tractors was not.

Back to Iceland. What would I suggest for a country that had huge amounts of renewable energy? Make aluminum and ammonia while switching to HEV. The only reason to switch to hydrogen fueled cars is to demonstrate that you are as clueless about the environment as some other EU leaders. Hydrogen is not a green choice.

[Bob Wallace]

It would depend on how one defines "generous".

If you base generosity on percent of GDP then the US is out front. But we have a huge economy compared to other countries.

If you base generosity on per capita giving then there are a dozen and a half countries that are more generous than we are.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_eco_aid_don_percap-economic-aid-donor-per-capita

Is the rich man who gives a fiver more generous than the pauper who give a buck?

And there's an additional 'problem' in that a good amount of our donations require that the money be spent back into the American economy. That can easily lead to a 'one hand gives, anther hand takes back' situation.

And best at being good stewards of our land? I'd be surprised. Most likely toward the top of the list, but I wouldn't bet on us being number one.

We're pretty good overall, but we tend to inflate our "goodness" which can make us blind to ideas from other places. Ideas which might help to make us even better.

--

And Iceland/hydrogen. Iceland is experimenting with hydrogen for transportation. Having a lot of inexpensive electricity makes it an economic option as far as fuel generation goes. (They have public buses running off hydrogen at the moment.)

But the rub will likely come for them in the lack of hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles being produced in large numbers. It's unlikely that any large scale manufacturer would set up an assembly line to crank out hydrogen cars for their tiny population.

I think Iceland got excited about hydrogen back when a lot of the rest of the world did. And they took the ball and ran.

But as we started thinking seriously about the inefficiencies of a hydrogen economy and as batteries began to improve the rest of the world has let the dream of a hydrogen future slide by.

Iceland could well end up with BEVs/PHEVs like the rest of us. (And electric battery warmers for the cold months. All 10+ of them. (Visited once in June. Brrrrrrrrr.))

[Kit P]

“It would depend on how one defines "generous".”

Sure does. I was thinking about the American people. If you would like to define it as foreign aid by socialist governments to other countries, we are way behind. Fortunately.

[Bob Wallace]

Luxembourg
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Sweden
United Kingdom
France
Finland
Switzerland
Ireland
Belgium
Austria
Canada
Japan
Australia
Spain
Portugal

Don't see any of those calling them selves "The People's Republic of ....".

And North Korea, Cuba, China, Vietnam, ..., well, they're all further down the list.

[Kit P]

I will try to be less subtle. Bob Wallace has provided a list of countries where their governments allow significant freedom that allows those counties to be prosperous. The American people are very generous in their personal charitable giving. We are generous with out time and money. Bob Wallace is suggesting that generosity is only based on what their governments give to other countries.

The fundamental point here is that countries or companies are neither greedy or generous. Those are human traits.

Most of the countries listed by BW have governments that are more generally more socialist than the US. Their elected leaders decide for them how generous they are going to be.

BW also provided list of repressive communist governments. It is amazing how prosperous these folks are when they are Americans.

I am proud to be an American, we are a generous people. BW disagrees.

[Bob Wallace]

All the countries that I listed have freely elected governments. If their citizens did not wish to have their personal tax 'dollars' donated to other people in the world they would elect other people to office.

Are individual American more giving than individuals of other countries? I don't know. I have found no data to settle the issue one way or another.

I too am (sometimes) proud to be an American. It's been quite hard to be proud the last few years, but I expect we'll be getting back to being good citizens before too long.

Here's hoping that we good Americans are not blinded by misguided patriotism and look at our country with wide open eyes, find the parts that are less than what they could be, and try our best to fix them.

When we run around shouting "We're Number 1! We're Number 1!" we tend to not pay attention to the fact that we are often not number one. And there are a lot of important measures at which we do not come out tops.

[Kit P]

It sure looks like there are some who are blinded by misguided anti-patriotism.

I think it is interesting that Bob Wallace feels that a good American is a person who feels compelled to refute the suggestion that American are generous and care about the environment.

[Bob Wallace]

Well Kit.

Up to your old twist words tricks again, I see.

And I was hoping you had turned a leaf and wanted to play nice.

Back to ignoring you I suppose. (Sure wish the knowledgeable people you chased away would come back.)

But before I go - that post 1945 cooling period? Read up on Global Dimming and SO2.

[Jake Burlow]

It's interesting this blog is still so relevant today, when it began about 2 years ago.

What I find fascinating about the rising gas prices is how secondary factor play into the pricing. For example, you don't think about it, but the credit card industry is a significant factor. Just look at this story -- http://basicpayments.com/sectors/visa-lowers-gasoline-discount-rate.html -- about how Visa can lower the pump price by lowering its discount rate to auto merchants. Amazing.

[jessieamelio]

i visited your site n was good enough then othere site that i visited last month

study abroad

[jody]

I think renewable energy is very important if we want to move forward as a country. However I think we are going in the wrong direction. We need to use magnet motors that are over 100% efficient. Some are even 500% efficient. I know this sounds crazy, but we have this technology. It’s just being hidden from you. The Big Energy companies are making $440 billion a year from us. It’s a huge scam. If you would like to see real proof of little guys like me trying to get the word out check out this link.
http://www.energybook.info/free_energy.html

Thank you,
jody

[coach sale]

Poor edward has to do his work after dinner and he couldn’t go with us to play football. Because he dare not go against his mother’s orders. What a pity!

[Volunteer in Thailand]

I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work.

[Domain and hosting]

Not just with gasoline, this problem is with every commodities a common man is using.

[SEO Services]

What are the different colored lines?

[Furniture Stores Burbank]

It feels like the gas prices are will never go back down.