$5 what the hell is up with gas?

Topic: $5 what the hell is up with gas? (Read 4030 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #15 – September 23, 2005, 10:42:50 AM

'Round here it was a big extravaganza - the radio stations were reporting that gashiznit $1.79 a liter in Sackville (my hometown, and an area known to be the last place prices rise in the metro Halifax area) and that it was going up to $2.25. People lined up at the pumps, there were fistfights, police were pleading for people to be civil, and apparently this happened all over eastern Canada. And you know what?

In the end, it was a hoax. Gas did not go up. Not even a cent. It was 111.9 cents/liter Monday, 111.9 yesterday, and is still 111.9 today. The head of the local oil company organization or institute or whatever even got on the radio and TV and told people it was a hoax and that if people were waiting in lines, to go home. And people ignored him and stayed in the lineups yesterday. The explanation the media is giving is that a gas station employee in Ontario accidentally set the price at something like three bucks a liter, a reporter saw the price, and the media went wild. The public, already jittery about gas prices, went even wilder, not only believing the rumour but spreading it. Even after it was all over the news that it was a hoax I was still getting phone calls from people saying "You'd better go get gas!"

Today the gas stations look like mini ghost towns, not a car in sight.

All over a hoax.

Yes, the price WILL go up, but it won't go up for a few days, and when it does it's not likely to go up as much and as fast as this hoax says it will. The oil companies know they're treading on thin ice (what with both US and Canadian governments demanding explanations for the recent gouging), so they wouldn't dare jack the price up before a wave even hits the sline in Galveston. To do so would be just begging for some sort of industry regulation.

As for myself, I knew the hurricane was coming and filled up the T-Bird, the Dakota and two five gallon jugs on Monday, knowing full well the price is gonna rise and people are gonna panic. Today I topped up the T-Bird again, so I've got as much gas on hand as I can safely store. The last price jump didn't affect me either - I filled up the same vehicles and gas cans days before the jump, and by the time I was out of gas it had come down to within a cent of pre-Katrina prices (110.9 before, 111.9 after).

Ya know, if people were smart about these things much of this silliness could be avoided. When you hear there's a potential disruption in the supply, fill your car NOW. Don't wait for the price increases, and don't wait for the panic that ensues when the prices start to increase. If you see an independent staion jack up the price, remember that is only one station. When you see the big guys start jacking up the prices you know it's going up for real. Fill your car early and then sit back and watch the sheep fighting over "cheap" gas.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #16 – September 23, 2005, 11:06:05 AM

My thoughts exactly how can gas double in price over night. There has to be a reason.

I hate the media for that reason they get a little tid bit of info and blow it way out of proportion.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #17 – September 23, 2005, 11:11:01 AM

Same price Today as Yesterday.......F@#ckin Media. This almost sounds like some oil exec leaked a BS story to some reporter and that reporter ran with it without investigating thereby starting a SH%*storm.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #18 – September 23, 2005, 11:59:53 AM

Quote from: CougarSE

Same story here in ohio. $5 gas tomorrow.

Yup, paid 2.49g a 1/2 hour ago (from the time of this post). I didn't really think it was gonna go up that high in the first place. But I figured i'd top off and be safe just in case it went over 3 again. In all honesty i'm rather sick of hearing about the gas "crisis" thing, and i'm even more sick of the "excuse's" that oil companies and even some gas stations are using to justify the overall gouging.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #19 – September 23, 2005, 12:02:24 PM

if we have such a problem with oil and everything how is everyone keeping up with the demand everyone has for gas? I have never once been turned away from a gas station because they couldnt get a shipment of gas. I think they just want some extra padding in their wallets.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #20 – September 23, 2005, 12:48:09 PM

OK, once more....

Gasoline is the epitome of the whole "supply and demand" theory. I cannot speak for Canada nor any other country, but in the U.S. there is a definite pr0nounced shortage. Not a huge one, but still there. We have barely enough oil to keep up with demand on a normal level. Why? SUV's; more people driving; more cars per capita than anywhere else in the world; CAFE standards not progressing in quite a few years; and so on. Not to mention, our "newest" oil refinery was built in 1978!

We got used to cheap gas for a long time. All the while I've been keeping tabs on what other countries paid. We definitely had a bargain compared to everyone else. Last summer, when the prices started creeping up, people complained a lot. Then they fell back a bit. This year they went through the roof. This has been long overdue....LONG overdue. It's sort of like when Milton stops getting his paychecks in 'Office Space': the oil companies "fixed the glitch". This was a correction, just like when the stock market has a big loss or gain. It puts the relative price for a commodity like gasoline in line with other products vs. the inflation rate. We have been extremely lucky up until this point. I would expect to never pay under $2/gallon again from now on. That is part of life. We must prepare for it, budget around it, and keep quiet when we realize that other countries pay double, triple, quadruple, and MORE than what we'll ever see.

HOWEVER...it is very, very hard for oil companies to justify the prices of gas that has already been refined, trucked, delivered, and sitting in the tanks to be pumped into vehicles. That is probably the only commodity that sees such a fluctuation in such a blatant way. When prices start changing hourly, there is something unholy going on.

OK, to put this into perspective, figure a gallon of milk is about $2.50. It has been pumped out of the cow, pasteurized, processed, bottled, packed, shipped, unloaded, and put into the refrigerator at the local grocery store. Generally the pricing of milk has always been relatively stable compared to inflation. Let's say you go to the store for a gallon of milk and you find out that, overnight, the price went up to $4/gallon. Well, why? What caused that price spike? Is it going to come down? Is this temporary?

See, that doesn't happen. Like, at all. But it's a regular occurence with gasoline. It is a product that has already been refined and delivered, too. Except that the consumer is expected--really, has no choice--to pay whatever price fluctuations occur, whenever they occur, at virtually any location in the country. And that is why the cost of gasoline will always be different than any other commodity.

Now a hurricane, flood, tsunami, tornado, etc. is the obvious wild card when it comes to oil and pricing. Shutting down one refinery for one day strains the whole supply of gasoline to the country. Now with Rita, ALL the refineries are shut down for several days. And now you know why gasoline will go up. As the supply is drained nationwide there will be no more gas to replace it for a few days (if we are lucky). Which is why it's smart to drop what you're doing, get off the computer, get into your car and fill up NOW. It WILL be going up.

What everyone else is not mentioning is how this affects home heating oil and natural gas supplies. Come this winter, you get screwed a second time, if you haven't already. In Ohio, we've been told to expect a 70% increase for natural gas. Home heating oil is going to be at least 40% more a gallon. I have already seen a very modest $.30/gallon increase with propane vs. last year and fortunately locked myself into that rate for the entire winter. Even though propane has fewer BTU's per gallon vs. heating oil, I thank my lucky stars that this year, propane heats the house and not anything else. But not everyone will be in that position.

Save money early, save it now, because you're all going to need it either at the pump or to another company that provides heating material to your home.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #21 – September 23, 2005, 12:53:01 PM

lol its a 1.05/Liter here

Z

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #22 – September 23, 2005, 01:08:46 PM

Quote

Let's say you go to the store for a gallon of milk and you find out that, overnight, the price went up to $4/gallon. Well, why?

Because the price of gas went throught the roof. And now the cost of fuel to get it here is more. And that is why the price of everything is going to climb as the price of fuel climbs.

At this point in the economy the price of just about everything revolves around the price of fuel. Theres no way around it at all.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #23 – September 23, 2005, 01:28:33 PM

Quote

Because the price of gas went throught the roof. And now the cost of fuel to get it here is more. And that is why the price of everything is going to climb as the price of fuel climbs.

Well that is certainly true. I meant, the price of milk would spike by itself, with no other external factors. That is not likely to happen. We're going to be paying more for absolutely everything else in the next few months, though, that's for sure. Just in time for Xmas shopping too...wonderful.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #24 – September 23, 2005, 01:29:54 PM

Too bad you can't get gas off ebay.

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #25 – September 23, 2005, 01:56:12 PM

Quote from: slamedcat

Too bad you can't get gas off ebay.

Yeah, I know what you mean - I get gas from many things: beans, cabbage, cola, etc - but eBay has never given me gas :D

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #26 – September 23, 2005, 01:59:46 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

beans, cabbage, cola, etc

You know what Mr. Fusion comes to mind. :D

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #27 – September 23, 2005, 02:02:43 PM

This just in: Rita has been downgraded to 120 MPH, and the price of oil has come down over $3/barrel as I type this. Maybe this time around we won't get screwed so bad...

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #28 – September 23, 2005, 02:04:47 PM

Hurricanes blow.

hehe

Re: $5 what the hell is up with gas?

Reply #29 – September 23, 2005, 02:08:28 PM

Yeah, well, tornadoes suck