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$4/gas... coming this summer to a station near you...

Plummit

Monkey
Mar 12, 2002
233
0
NYMEX price of Oil now at $108.80
How much is due to demand and how much to market speculation/ commodities bubble? There was a bit on the news the other night about lawmakers considering trying to remove speculators from the oil market. Not sure how that would work, force buyers to take delivery of their oil positions? Only allow certain people/entities to bid?

While it could conceivably cause prices to drop/crash in the short term, could well have disastrous unintended consequences in the long.

$100 plus oil is certainly driving investment in other energy sectors (nukes of various stripes, solar, wind, coal, etc.), but it also drives innovation w/in the oil complex to innovate and develop new tech that will let us get at deep offshore reserves as well as those thought uneconomical/unattainable (oil sands, shale...)
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
How much is due to demand and how much to market speculation/ commodities bubble? There was a bit on the news the other night about lawmakers considering trying to remove speculators from the oil market. Not sure how that would work, force buyers to take delivery of their oil positions? Only allow certain people/entities to bid?

While it could conceivably cause prices to drop/crash in the short term, could well have disastrous unintended consequences in the long.

its a commodity.. like gold.

i wonder if Congess is going to round up the Big Gold exec's and grill em next..
 

Plummit

Monkey
Mar 12, 2002
233
0
its a commodity.. like gold.

i wonder if Congess is going to round up the Big Gold exec's and grill em next..
I know. This is, however, what I was referring to:
Meehan and a group of fuel dealers appeared at the state Capitol on Monday with U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., to support federal legislation that aims to remove the speculation in the energy futures market. An Energy Department official this month said market speculation on energy prices may have added as much as 10 percent to crude oil costs.

Larson's bill would require investors in the commodities market to be able to take delivery of the petroleum product in which they are investing. Such a move, he said, would eliminate speculators from the market.
More nonsense HERE.
 

Jettj45

Monkey
Oct 20, 2005
670
3
Butthole of NC
Is there any legitimate reason that oil companies still are having there largest profit margins and still increasing gas prices...? If they decreased gas prices a lot they would still be making insane amounts of money...
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
I will never understand why they get away with charging MORE for diesel when it it clearly less expensive to produce.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
What blend is that? I think the B25 here is $2.65.
Commercial or co-op homebrew?
B25 is only $0.12/gal cheaper here, from the only source in the area.
From a monetary angle, not much incentive since I get less mpg than from dino (but much lower emissions which is cool).

Dino was $2.50g last summer :nopity:
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
Commercial or co-op homebrew?
B25 is only $0.12/gal cheaper here, from the only source in the area.
From a monetary angle, not much incentive since I get less mpg than from dino (but much lower emissions which is cool).
That's commercial. I haven't researched co-op since I am planning a home brew setup at a friends house. Depending on how things go, a co-op might be a solid option. I know the state has some agriculture co-op incentives.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
Is there any legitimate reason that oil companies still are having there largest profit margins and still increasing gas prices...? If they decreased gas prices a lot they would still be making insane amounts of money...
their obligation is to maximize return for their shareholders. given a demand that does not budge perceptibly with higher prices there's no reason for them to lower their prices.
 

X3pilot

Texans fan - LOL
Aug 13, 2007
5,860
1
SoMD
Actually heard on NPR today that one of the reasons for this weekend's rise was such a sharp decrease in demand!?!?

With a drop in demand, suppliers are saying they need to raise prices to ensure profit margins.

Also contributing was the skyrocketing cost of ethanol. WTF, didn't GWB tell us that ethanol production would help lower gas prices despite raising our food prices 7% the last year and a half?

Phuctards...
 

3D.

Monkey
Feb 23, 2006
899
0
Chinafornia USA
I can hardly wait to go bio this summer. :disgust1:
Glad this is getting discussed, I brought it up in one of the other fuel threads and Chang shook his head:biggrin:

I've just recently started a component collection for my 2000 7.3 powerstroke conversion. I'm setting it up mainly for SVO with heated fuel lines and a heated secondary tank in bed(stock 2000 ford 1 tank only) I plan on running a lot of B mixes in this set up as well, for it is the ultimate system for B100.

you can get pre-filtered WVO shipped to you for like $2 a gallon right now...

I just landed a few large personal supplies of sushi rest. fryer oil and a golden rod is on the way>
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,160
2,685
The bunker at parliament
I will never understand why they get away with charging MORE for diesel when it it clearly less expensive to produce.
Dunno about your country but in NZ the Diesel is cheaper.

This is due to the differing taxation levels of fuels.
Petrol is taxed more as Diesel is mainly used by trucking goods around which is important to the economy (and prices of goods in the shops).
Diesel users instead of getting taxed on the volume of fuel used, get taxed by their mileage with road user charges. So the big rigs are taxed for how far they go and not by how much fuel is needed to haul that heavy trailer full of stuff.

Roughly 60-70% of the pump price of Petrol in NZ is Tax. :(
Currently it's $1.78 a liter for the cheaper grade 91 octane.
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
Petrol went down about 20-25 yen a litre here as parliament couldn't pass an extension to a bill allowing them to levy a fuel tax. For the time being we are winning but that just means you usually lose harder in the end.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Hope this will come true..



Gov't Expects Gasoline to Peak at $3.60
Tuesday April 8, 9:58 am ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer

Energy Department Expects Gas Prices to Peak at $3.60 a Gallon This Spring, Curbing Demand

NEW YORK (AP) -- Retail gas prices will peak near $3.60 a gallon in June, but prices at such lofty levels will make many Americans think twice about hitting the road this summer, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

High prices and a weak economy are expected to cut demand for gasoline by about 0.4 percent during the peak summer driving season, the department's Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on petroleum supplies and demand. Overall consumption of petroleum products will drop by 90,000 barrels a day this year. Previously, the EIA had projected petroleum consumption would rise by 40,000 barrels a day.

The government had previously estimated that gas prices would peak near $3.50 a gallon. Many analysts predict prices will rise higher than the EIA's latest estimate, and approach $4 a gallon.

On Tuesday, gas prices slipped slightly to a national average of $3.331 a gallon from Monday's record of $3.339, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are 55 cents higher than a year ago.

Diesel prices, which are already averaging more than $4 a gallon nationwide, will average $3.62 a gallon this year, up 74 cents from 2007, the EIA said. Diesel fuel is used to transport the vast majority of the world's food, consumer and industrial products. High diesel prices are one of the reasons food prices are soaring.

Crude oil prices are the biggest reason gas and diesel prices are rising, the EIA said. Oil is now expected to average $101 a barrel this year, up from the EIA's previous projection of $94. Next year, the EIA expects oil to average $92.50 a barrel, up from a previous projection of $86.

While high prices are damping demand in the U.S., petroleum consumption remains strong in China, India, Russia and the Middle East, the EIA said.

"The combination of rising world oil consumption and low surplus production capacity is putting upward pressure on oil prices," the EIA report said. "The flow of investment money into commodities has contributed to crude oil price volatility."

Indeed, the EIA acknowledged "significant uncertainty" in its oil price projections, noting that unexpected supply disruptions due to conflict in oil-producing nations, unusual weather or refinery outages could send prices spiraling sharply higher.

"Prices can fall as rapidly under a different set of circumstances, such as easing of geopolitical tensions or further weakening of U.S. and world economic growth," the EIA's report said.

The EIA report underscored the difficulties refiners are facing, despite high gas prices. Refiners have to buy the crude they process into fuel. But falling demand for gasoline prevents refiners from raising gas prices enough to keep up with the soaring price of crude.

"These projections indicate a narrowing of the difference between the gasoline retail price and the average cost of crude oil," EIA said.

The EIA also projected that OPEC oil production will average 32.3 million barrels a day this year, up about 100,000 barrels a day from previous forecasts.
 

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
So, based on your global warming theory, the fact that gas prices slipped from 3.339 to 3.331 means there is no problem with rising gas prices, right?
 

Plummit

Monkey
Mar 12, 2002
233
0
The revised version of that AP piece (same author) also says this:

"It is important to note ... that even if the national average monthly gasoline price peaks around $3.60 per gallon this summer, it is possible that prices at some point will cross the $4 per gallon threshold," the EIA said.

The government had previously estimated that average monthly prices would peak near $3.50 a gallon. Many analysts predict prices will peak close to $4 a gallon.
LINK
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
I would love to go bio but I am all over the nation towing a 40 footer and never in one spot long enough to have a tank farm or brew kit.

not only that my truck wont convert,

I guess these are the prices a man pays to have complete freedom
Your 6.4 can run bio (not greasecar or svo conversion) as is. Ford probably only recommends B5 (like GM) but I run B25 in my duramax no problem and know guys who run b100. Worst case you'll roach a fuel filter if your tank/lines are dirty but I haven't had that issue and it's an easy swap if you have a spare. If I were travelling as much as you I'd install a secondary filter (nictane, CAT, racor) between the tank and OEM filter anyway.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
Your 6.4 can run bio (not greasecar or svo conversion) as is. Ford probably only recommends B5 (like GM) but I run B25 in my duramax no problem and know guys who run b100. Worst case you'll roach a fuel filter if your tank/lines are dirty but I haven't had that issue and it's an easy swap if you have a spare. If I were travelling as much as you I'd install a secondary filter (nictane, CAT, racor) between the tank and OEM filter anyway.
:stupid:

I know a few F@rd guys who run commercial B25 without issue. Like dan-o said, you just don't have the option of a straight veggie install. I wouldn't recommend that in any newer diesel anyway. I know a friends Dodge started having issues running filtered WVO, so he is back to bio now.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Chock full-o-bad news..

:(



http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/09/markets/eia/index.htm?section=money_latest

Oil jumps above $110 as supply declines

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices jumped Wednesday after a government report showed an unexpected decline in crude supplies.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose $2.80 to $111.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices had risen to $109.31 immediately before the report's release.

In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said crude stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week ended April 4. Analysts had been expecting an increase of 2.4 million barrels, according to a Dow Jones poll.

The EIA said that gasoline supplies fell by 3.4 million barrels. Analysts had only expected a drop of 2.3 million barrels.

Analysts say refiners have cut back on gasoline production due to low profit margins. The rising price of crude means it costs refiners more to turn the raw product into motor fuel.
 

X3pilot

Texans fan - LOL
Aug 13, 2007
5,860
1
SoMD
Analysts say refiners have cut back on gasoline production due to low profit margins. The rising price of crude means it costs refiners more to turn the raw product into motor fuel.
So for the last 4 years, all that bullsh!t we've been fed about supply and demand (rising demand and limited supply) being the cause for rising prices is just that....bullsh!t.

Cheney only has a few more months to jack the system with his secret "energy bill".
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
So for the last 4 years, all that bullsh!t we've been fed about supply and demand (rising demand and limited supply) being the cause for rising prices is just that....bullsh!t.

Cheney only has a few more months to jack the system with his secret "energy bill".
If it was any other industry, the govt would step in due to monopolistic unfair practices like they did with AT&T.

Too bad this Admin is a bigger whore than Heidi Fleiss, David Beckman, and Ron Jeremy combined.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
thought so


http://www.cnbc.com/id/24032497

Investors--More Than OPEC--Determining Price Of Oil

With oil prices topping $112/barrel and some analysts predicting the next stop to be $120, will OPEC finally step in and add crude to the market to tame prices?

I doubt it will happen. OPEC members have reiterated over the past few days that they think they believe the oil market is adequately supplied and they have no intention of increasing production to keep oil prices from spiking higher. (OPEC's next scheduled meeting is in Vienna in September.)

The cartel is already pumping more oil than they'd promised, according to a Platts survey released earlier today.
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
ya, but:

same article said:
Verlager said speculation on the long side accounts for less than 10 percent of market share when adjusted for index funds. He says speculators have played a "modest role" in the price rise and that spike we've seen is not a "bubble" but due instead to "the inability of policymakers to address important structural imbalances in the economy."
speculators only make money when the price goes UP. investors are betting that the price will be going up, so they're driving the prices up... which works until it gets way out of wack (internet bubble, housing bubble, pyramid scheme, etc) that everything just crashes. oil/commodities might be similar, and demand might slack off *some* with the higher prices, but as long as people are willing to pay $4/gallon at the gas pump, there'll be $4/gallon gas.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
just in time for summer!

Gas strikes 9th straight record high at $3.787 a gallon
Friday May 16, 6:25 am ET

Retail gas prices hit record highs for the ninth day in a row, auto group AAA's Web site showed Friday.

The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded hit $3.787, up from the previous high of $3.776.

Gas prices have now risen for 10 straight days. The pinch on consumers at the pump comes just ahead of the summer driving season, which kicks off with Memorial Day weekend.

The AAA national average shows gas prices up 11% over the past month and up nearly 22% from year-ago levels.

Two states have passed the $4 a gallon threshold. According to the AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Alaska is $4.042.

Connecticut is the second most expensive state to purchase gas in with an average price of $4.008 a gallon.

The least expensive state for drivers is Arizona, where a gallon of regular unleaded will set consumers back $3.565, well below the national average.

The second least expensive state to purchase gas in is Wyoming, where a gallon of gas averages $3.580.

Retail gas prices have been pushed up by crude oil prices, which have doubled in the last 12 months.