Gas Prices

Today at Von's in SoCal, , $2.979, using a credit card. Cash was a dime less/gal.

We use their points, usually from gift card purchases, and save $1/gallon.




Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
$4.59 down the street from me, $4.19 where I usually fill up. Downtown San Francisco.
 
ERD50 said:
Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to gas prices?

I don't do what I'd call 'discretionary' driving. I try to limit my miles, and I drive cars that get decent mpg. So when I need to fill up, I fill up. End of story. I can't control the price of gas, so why spend time thinking about it?

In general, it seems that Costco will be a penny or two cheaper than other places, and we are there often enough that that is our default. But a fill up is 10-15 gallons, I'm not going out of my way to save a quarter for that fill up.

Gas is whatever the sign at Costco or the other low-priced stations says it is. I couldn't tell you my last fill up price if my life depended on it. $3.xx probably, if I had to guess, closer to $4 than $3 I think, but that's a guess.

-ERD50
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I have a retired friend who told me he never looks at gas prices. He retired well from Anadarko and has a high spend with no worries. He is also the same guy who bought a $500K variable annuity and was touting his smart move, not that gas price issues have anything to do with his VA purchase decision.

I drive about 36,000 miles per year and DW about 15K miles. I drive a diesel that gets 42-46 MPG so I too, don't really look hard at D2 prices since I get great mileage. DW fills up at a Stripes station that has the lowest prices in town.
 
aja8888 said:
Let me clarify the high cost in California, which is NOT the highest in the nation (Hawaii and Alaska are higher). From a recent article in USA Today (7/27/14):

"When it comes to gasoline, "California is a bit of an island," AAA's Ash told 24/7 Wall St. State fuel regulations isolate California from neighboring states, requiring it to rely on in-state refineries. "If a California refinery goes offline, which is often the case during the spring transition periods or during the summer, it can have an effect on retail [gasoline] prices," Ash said. State regulations make it harder to supplement in-state production with gas from other states, often creating large fluctuations in California's gas prices."

and,

"California
> Price per gallon: $4.09
> Number of refineries: 17 (3rd highest)
> Tax per gallon: 49.8 cents (2nd highest)

High levels of oil production and refining activity have not led to low gas prices in California. Last year, California was the nation's third largest producer of oil, behind only Texas and North Dakota. The state also has the third highest refining capacity in the nation. Despite these factors, a gallon of gas in California costs $4.09, versus $3.60 per gallon nationwide. One reason for the high prices is state and local taxes, which average nearly 50 cents per gallon, or more than in any other state except New York. Additionally, California refineries operate at near-capacity due to demand and the state's strict environmental standards, the EIA notes. These factors make gasoline prices in California especially volatile."


Link to article:


States with the highest gas prices


gardenfun: I understand why you won't get used to it. I was there for 12 years and didn't either. But it is complicated and a mix of meeting environmental regulations and high taxes.
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Thanks, aja!

It's just that over the years we in the east bay have been given somewhat lame justifications as to why our gas prices are so much higher than those in Sacramento or LA or even the south bay--"competition" or some such thing. I can understand why California itself is higher than others, just don't believe the reasoning for why our particular part of the bay area is so high.

Although Fire'd got me beat--prices in SF are probably the highest. :(
 
"When it comes to gasoline, "California is a bit of an island," AAA's Ash told 24/7 Wall St. State fuel regulations isolate California from neighboring states, requiring it to rely on in-state refineries. "If a California refinery goes offline, which is often the case during the spring transition periods or during the summer, it can have an effect on retail [gasoline] prices," Ash said. State regulations make it harder to supplement in-state production with gas from other states, often creating large fluctuations in California's gas prices."
Click to expand...

That one is always good for a laugh. There are 11 distinctive special blends of gas, plus additional seasonal and specialized blends (high altitude, winter vs summer, etc) used in the US. California isn't the only area with a distinctive fuel.

It might be more reasonable to look at insufficient pipeline capacity into California. Those whacky Sierra Nevada mountains, meddling with the infrastructure again.

On refinery capacity and the need to import gasoline to the West Coast...

West Coast (PADD 5) Exports of Finished Motor Gasoline (Thousand Barrels)
attachment.php


For May 2014 we exported 1,654,000 barrels of finished motor gasoline. That's from PADD5, California plus a refinery complex in Washington.
 
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M Paquette said:
It might be more reasonable to look at insufficient pipeline capacity into California. Those whacky Sierra Nevada mountains, meddling with the infrastructure again.
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Yeah, it's about as hard to move a mountain as it is to get a permit to construct a pipeline in California. Ask me how I know after 12 years working for ARCO Corporate in Los Angeles (remember them?) in the environmental field. :D
 
$3.25 at Costco today, most of the other stations were at $3.39
 
Near my crash pad here in the midwest, it's $3.45. Back home in HI it's currently about $4.30.

Unlike ERD50, I do "play" the gas prices game. Here in the midwest, the swings can be enormous. In the past 8 weeks, we have gone from a low of $3.14 to a high of $3.98. Gas prices have a "natural" pendulum swing and there is also the weekend add-on. If I watch the prices carefully, I can usually get very near the best price on the "down swing" in the early part of the week. Call me a penny pincher, but it costs nothing to play the game (I don't run all around town looking for the best price.) I just watch prices rise and fall and then take my best shot within about a 2-week period to fill up again. Most time, I have plenty of fuel in the tank so that I can go 3 weeks if I need to. I'm guessing I can save about $2.50 to $5.00 per tank. Not worth losing sleep over, but playing the game is not only free, but I can "win" a few bucks if I play well. What scratch-off lotto game can give you that payoff almost every time?

I think ERD50's point about gas prices makes the most sense when you put skin in the game - namely when you buy a particular car to get "better" gas mileage. I love the new technology that stretches a gallon of gas, but in many cases, the entry cost will never be made up unless gas prices go up much more than the current $3 to $4 range. Not knocking anyone who buys a fuel efficient car. Just suggesting the added cost may not save enough fuel to pay the difference. Since I now buy used cars, the much lower purchase price makes the fuel efficiency even less of an issue. In the case of used, the more important question is the inherent reliability of the brand and the cost of repairing the brand (e.g., Buick probably wins out over Cadillac and Toyota probably wins out over BMW.) Naturally, YMMV.
 
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I really do not understand this recent drop in prices. Normally any little sneeze that takes place around the world and they jack up the prices overnight. Now with Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia situation getting worse, US exporting oil and its peak vacation season, I don't get it, unless the gov't is somehow involved in this phenomena.
 
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DFW_M5 said:
I really do not understand this recent drop in prices. Normally any little sneeze that takes place around the world and they jack up the prices overnight. Now with Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia situation getting worse, US exporting oil and its peak vacation season, I don't get it, unless the gov't is somehow involved in this phenomena.
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There's a worldwide glut of crude oil (at the moment) and the U.S. refiners have been having to charge lower wholesale prices for refined products because the Brent crude price has fallen.

The U.S. is not exporting crude oil (only light condensate as of now). We have been exporting diesel to Europe and Mexico, but that's been going on for a long time.

Don't listen to the media as they really don't understand the world energy market forces.
 
aja8888 said:
Don't listen to the media as they really don't understand the world energy market forces.
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Agree, but I'm not sure anyone understands the elasticity of gas pricing as a function of supply/demand & risk balance
 
DFW_M5 said:
Agree, but I'm not sure anyone understands the elasticity of gas pricing as a function of supply/demand & risk balance
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I'm not an expert, but part of the "elasticity" of MOTOR fuel issue is probably due to storage capacity. Whenever there is even a slight imbalance in supply, storage tanks can become virtually empty (instant high prices) or virtually full (dramatic drop in prices) in a matter of days. AND then, the only place for most of those motor fuels to go is into vehicle tanks. If there is a trend of long-term tighter and tighter or looser and looser supplies, prices can creep up or down. But if storage capacity becomes critical (as now, when we are in a slight glut market) prices can bounce wildly (I mentioned local fuel prices of $3.14 to $3.98 in two months). Realistically, there is much more fuel stored in our motor vehicles than there is in bulk storage tanks. Hence, there is a perturbation of the usual "supply vs demand" equation. The concept still works, but the tight point is probably in the bulk storage arena. Again, not an expert, so I could be full of it. Still, I think one way to "smooth" the prices is to have more bulk storage. I used to buy my motor fuel in bulk when prices were low and then store it in a 200 gallon tank in the back yard - back when I lived (not w*rked) on a farm.

If I'm completely off base with my theory, maybe someone here can correct me because, heaven knows, YMMV.
 
Filled up for $2.47 this morning here in the Midwest. It started out at $3.21, but with my grocery store rewards discount, I got it down to $2.47. Love it when that happens.
 
$3.13 too, outside of Houston. Now that I'm retired I fill up once a month unless I do trips outside of my area, which is rare.
 
$3.23 yesterday at the place I buy soda.
If the XL pipeline gets completed though we expect our prices to go up in MN.
 
imoldernu said:
Anyone use E85?
If so, and you switch between grades, would you estimate the difference in miles per gallon?

Current local price $2.79

How many E85 stations in your state?
E85 in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

I have 2 vehicles capable of using E85 but I don't recall ever seeing a station selling it. Maybe I just haven't notice them...

Anyway, I started seeing gas prices below $3 a gallon almost a month ago at a few stations but now I'm seeing it at most stations here in the central/east Texas area. Paid 2.65 today. In the past week I've seen it as high as 3.19 and as low as 2.65 in this general area. The downside is my oil and gas stocks have been falling faster than the gas prices.
 
gardenfun said:
you guys are killing me:

$4.19

Just down the road from all the Richmond refineries. and Chevron headquarters.
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You must be from my neck of the woods. My dad worked at Chevron in Richmond. The gas station just outside the refinery had much higher prices than the other Chevron stations. Always did. Dad never went to that station.

Price of gas in PA right now is $3.19. It's been under $3 in Virginia for at least a month.
 
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