Oil prices...

sickboy

Active Member
....did I just see this right? $36.06/barrel????!!!??? I was just watching the top line on cnbc and almost ..... myself when I saw this (haven't been watching the prices too much lately).
Why did my gas prices go back up if oil is tumbling?
 

bionicarm

Active Member
Gas stations are still selling the fuel that was made with the $50/barrel oil they bought a month or so ago. People have still scaled back on their gas purchases, so they still have the 'expensive' stuff in their storage tanks. I think the price of gas bottomed out last month. It's gonna keep continuing to creep up in preparation for Spring Break and the upcoming summer...
 

sickboy

Active Member
OH yeah, how could I forget about the funky accounting practices the stations use! Silly me.
Seriously though, how can you raise your price to the market regardless of purchase price on the way up, but then dismiss the market and sell for the money that you actually bought the gas at on the way down?
 

jerthunter

Active Member
Originally Posted by sickboy
http:///forum/post/2951583
OH yeah, how could I forget about the funky accounting practices the stations use! Silly me.
Seriously though, how can you raise your price to the market regardless of purchase price on the way up, but then dismiss the market and sell for the money that you actually bought the gas at on the way down?
Because people will still buy it.
 

scsinet

Active Member
The price of a barrel of oil and the price of a gallon of gas are not 100% locked to each other. Although we generally see the price of a barrel rising as the price of a gallon rises, the two are not always changing in perfect relation to each other.
Just because oil costs 1/5 what it did 6 months ago doesn't mean that gas will cost 1/5 as much. Remember that once oil is pulled out of the ground, it has to go through processing, transportation, and retailing costs that remain fixed no matter what the oil costs. All this adds to the prices.
Lest we all forget several months ago when the cost of a gallon of gas was dropping much faster than the price of a barrel of oil....
People need to get away from this "record profits" wealth-envy. The oil companies are making record profits because the consumers are buying oil in record amounts. It's as plain as that. To think that the oil companies should cut their profits in order to reduce the price of gas, just because it would be "a nice thing to do" is absolute madness.
The bottom line is that people PAY the higher prices. They don't, in general, reduce their driving or make any substantial effort to curb their gas usage - at least not enough to affect the price to anyone's satisfaction. Demand goes up, so does price. We all whine about these big evil oil companies, but we still buy the products, at those prices.
 

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jerthunter
http:///forum/post/2951592
Because people will still buy it.
Thank you!
That's the bottom line.
We Still Buy It.
We whine, we gripe, we rag on about this big evil companies, while at the same time buying the products.
Speaking of profits... oil companies are in business for one reason and one reason only... to make money for their shareholders. When you invest in a company, you want that investment to return as much as possible. The oil companies can't well do that just because people are angry that the prices are so high. And why should they? We're still buying it...
I'd be curious to see how those who are whining about the evil oil companies would feel if they invested in them... I'm sure they'd see the situation very differently.
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by bionicarm
http:///forum/post/2951573
Gas stations are still selling the fuel that was made with the $50/barrel oil they bought a month or so ago. People have still scaled back on their gas purchases, so they still have the 'expensive' stuff in their storage tanks.
Well hell has frozen over, you just said something that I agree with...
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by sickboy
http:///forum/post/2951488
....did I just see this right? $36.06/barrel????!!!??? I was just watching the top line on cnbc and almost ..... myself when I saw this (haven't been watching the prices too much lately).
Why did my gas prices go back up if oil is tumbling?
IT hasn't been tumbling, it has been around 40-45 bucks for the past month with a couple of dips down to 36ish.
But dang, a company charging as much as it can and still sell, the horror!
 

reefereric

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2951594
The price of a barrel of oil and the price of a gallon of gas are not 100% locked to each other. Although we generally see the price of a barrel rising as the price of a gallon rises, the two are not always changing in perfect relation to each other.
Just because oil costs 1/5 what it did 6 months ago doesn't mean that gas will cost 1/5 as much. Remember that once oil is pulled out of the ground, it has to go through processing, transportation, and retailing costs that remain fixed no matter what the oil costs. All this adds to the prices.
Lest we all forget several months ago when the cost of a gallon of gas was dropping much faster than the price of a barrel of oil....
People need to get away from this "record profits" wealth-envy. The oil companies are making record profits because the consumers are buying oil in record amounts. It's as plain as that. To think that the oil companies should cut their profits in order to reduce the price of gas, just because it would be "a nice thing to do" is absolute madness.
The bottom line is that people PAY the higher prices. They don't, in general, reduce their driving or make any substantial effort to curb their gas usage - at least not enough to affect the price to anyone's satisfaction. Demand goes up, so does price. We all whine about these big evil oil companies, but we still buy the products, at those prices.
AMEN, SCSInet! It would be a wonderous thing if 99.9% of the US popluation were to take a couple economics classes. I have stopped reading most everything and replying to everything all together because (no offense meant to anyone, promise!
) everyone thinks they know how evil so and so is, or how dirty they are for selling something we need. If you don't like paying $5 a gallon, get a bike!
Sorry, had to get that one out. It's been months since I replid to anything here.
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by ReeferEric
http:///forum/post/2952598
AMEN, SCSInet! It would be a wonderous thing if 99.9% of the US popluation were to take a couple economics classes. I have stopped reading most everything and replying to everything all together because (no offense meant to anyone, promise!
) everyone thinks they know how evil so and so is, or how dirty they are for selling something we need. If you don't like paying $5 a gallon, get a bike!
Sorry, had to get that one out. It's been months since I replid to anything here.
You should rephrase that...
Everyone should take a couple of economics classes taught by Friedman.
 

reefereric

Member
Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/2952643
You should rephrase that...
Everyone should take a couple of economics classes taught by Friedman.
BEAUTIFUL! A great addition!
However, in all honestly, I'd settle for most people taking them from just about anyone. Beggars can't be choosers!
 
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