OilPrice.com | Energy | Gas Prices

OilPrice.com | Energy | Gas Prices Analysis of gas price movements and gas price forecasts. Learn how gas prices are determined and what effect gas prices have on the economy. http://oilprice.com/ Fri, 25 May 2012 0:25:19 GMT Oilprice.com (info@oilprice.com) Gasoline is Expensive - Deal with it http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Gasoline-is-Expensive-Deal-with-it.html The White House announced it was getting into the commodities game in an effort to protect consumers from some of the geopolitical factors spilling over into the retail gasoline market. OPEC and the IEA both said in their monthly reports that market perceptions were behind higher energy prices, not physical shortages. With most U.S. consumers still economically gun shy, gasoline consumption is down amid high retail prices. But on the business side, protection against potential oil shocks in the long-term could help push a reinvigorated U.S. economy…

]]> dg@oilprice.com (Daniel J. Graeber) Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:31:27 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Gasoline-is-Expensive-Deal-with-it.html Don't Believe David Frum, War with Iran will not Lower Gas Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Dont-Believe-David-Frum-War-with-Iran-will-not-Lower-Gas-Prices.html I caught Republican strategist David Frum speaking on Erin Burnett’s magazine show on CNN Tuesday evening. I looked, but I couldn’t find a transcript yet, so this is from memory. Frum was a speech writer for George W. Bush and is said to have put the phrase ‘axis of evil’ in W.’s mouth. On the other hand, Frum has tried to stand against the Tea Party and the Palinization of the GOP. Burnett was making the correct point that President Barack Obama is not responsible for the price of gasoline, which is set by world markets…

]]> juancole@oilprice.com (Juan Cole) Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:11:43 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Dont-Believe-David-Frum-War-with-Iran-will-not-Lower-Gas-Prices.html So far High Gasoline Prices are not Affecting Inflation http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/So-far-High-Gasoline-Prices-are-not-Affecting-Inflation.html Recently many commentators have worried that rising gasoline prices will derail the fragile recovery of the U.S. economy. The latest inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows little sign that any such thing is happening yet. The headline all-items CPI for urban consumers rose at a 3.54 percent annual rate in March, down from 5.03 percent in February. (I base these rates on the unrounded CPI data supplied by the Cleveland Fed and state monthly data as annual rates.) There are two parts to the concern that gasoline prices could harm…

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]]> dolane@oilprice.com (Ed Dolan) Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:19:44 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/So-far-High-Gasoline-Prices-are-not-Affecting-Inflation.html Cheaper Gas for your SUV, Wade through the Politics http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Cheaper-Gas-for-your-SUV-Wade-through-the-Politics.html Gas will play a significant role in the November election in the United States, and though there has been a recent gain in biofuels that could lead to some progress at the pump very soon, most economists predict that prices will remain high throughout the summer.The average US consumer will be guided by a bombardment of gas-related campaign advertisements, which flaunt a number of misnomers on both sides. The consumer/voter might also consider that spending on gas represents only a small percentage of consumer spending: In January, for instance,…

]]> corporate@oilprice.com (Jen Alic) Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:06:52 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Cheaper-Gas-for-your-SUV-Wade-through-the-Politics.html U.S. Corn-Ethanol Gas Push: Small Step in a Grand Project http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/US-Corn-Ethanol-Gas-Push-Small-Step-in-a-Grand-Project.html As efforts to reduce US dependence on foreign fuel imports gain momentum, along with soaring gas prices, the federal government is moving towards allowing the wide distribution of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol, which could be ready for sale as early as this summer. It is a small victory in a much larger biofuels scheme, and there are still hurdles to get past. Registration will require a new set of federal tests, individual states still must make the mixed gasoline a registered fuel, and distributors must still be brought on board to sell…

]]> corporate@oilprice.com (Jen Alic) Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:22:29 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/US-Corn-Ethanol-Gas-Push-Small-Step-in-a-Grand-Project.html In Search of Big Oil Backing Romney Blames Obama for High Gas Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/In-Search-of-Big-Oil-Backing-Romney-Blames-Obama-for-High-Gas-Prices.html After his wins on Tuesday, Mitt Romney is clearly the Republican standard bearer in the 2012 election, and he is already flailing about attempting to find some mud to throw at President Obama in hopes some of it will stick. He has trotted out a tired talking point attempting to blame Obama for high gasoline prices, saying that the president’s environmentalism has gotten in the way of US drilling. The charge is full of factual and logical holes. But the attack of Romney on Obama is undermined by the positions taken by Romney1. In 2006, Romney…

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]]> juancole@oilprice.com (Juan Cole) Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:21:37 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/In-Search-of-Big-Oil-Backing-Romney-Blames-Obama-for-High-Gas-Prices.html Several Reasons Why Gasoline Prices are so High http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Several-Reasons-Why-Gasoline-Prices-are-so-High.html When President Obama took office, regular gasoline cost $1.85 a gallon. Now its hit $4.00 per gallon in many cities, and some analysts predict it could reach $5.00 or more this summer. Filling your tank could soon slam you for $75-$90.This winter was warm. Our economy remains weak. People are driving less, in cars that get better mileage, even with mandatory 10% ethanol. Gasoline is plentiful. Misinformed politicians and pundits say prices should be falling. They claim our pain at the pump is due to greedy speculators and greedier oil…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:31:39 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Several-Reasons-Why-Gasoline-Prices-are-so-High.html Republicans Back Sanctions Against Iran, but Blame Obama for High Gas Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Republicans-Back-Sanctions-Against-Iran-but-Blame-Obama-for-High-Gas-Prices.html President Barack Obama campaigned on energy issues on Wednesday, visiting a handful of oil wellheads on Federal land in New Mexico and a solar installation in Boulder City, Nevada. The subtext of this Obama campaign is public unhappiness with the price of gasoline and the hypocritical attacks on him over this issue by his Republican opponents. The fact is that there is only one thing Obama could have done to bring down oil prices, and that would have been to veto the National Defense Authorization Act until Congress took back out the provisions…

]]> juancole@oilprice.com (Juan Cole) Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:30:15 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Republicans-Back-Sanctions-Against-Iran-but-Blame-Obama-for-High-Gas-Prices.html Energy Secretary Chu was Right, US Gas Prices Need to be Higher http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Energy-Secretary-Chu-was-Right-US-Gas-Prices-Need-to-be-Higher.html Why would a president want to bring an eminent scientist like Energy Secretary Steven Chu into government? In the hope, one would suppose, that he would speak truth to power. Sadly, that hope seems to have been dashed in the case of Secretary Chu. In 2008, before becoming part of the cabinet, he had said that as part of the effort to protect the environment and wean the U.S. economy from its energy addiction, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” But earlier this week, at a…

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]]> dolane@oilprice.com (Ed Dolan) Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:45:10 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Energy-Secretary-Chu-was-Right-US-Gas-Prices-Need-to-be-Higher.html The Ugly Politics of Higher Gasoline Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/The-Ugly-Politics-of-Higher-Gasoline-Prices.html The impacts of higher oil and gasoline prices are beginning to ripple across the economy. Wells Fargo Economics reported today that higher energy prices increased the producer price index (PPI) by 0.4 percent in February 2012 which was the highest monthly gain in the PPI in five months. Wholesale gasoline prices were up for the second-straight month, increasing 4.3 percent, home heating oil was up 5.3 percent and residential electric power prices increased 0.6 percent.The growth in domestic natural gas production from shales has decoupled…

]]> huntga@oilprice.com (Gary Hunt) Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:20:14 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/The-Ugly-Politics-of-Higher-Gasoline-Prices.html Are Americans Becoming Inured to High Gas Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Are-Americans-Becoming-Inured-to-High-Gas-Prices.html With the EU's debt crisis and the Iranian confrontation relatively quiescent, attention has turned to the incessant increase in U.S. gasoline prices. The Capitol Hill gas station, where at least some members of Congress fill up, is currently selling regular for $4.49 a gallon. If you prefer to do business at the Watergate Exxon it will set you back $5.39 for regular. For a real taste of the future, then be sure to come in a full-sized SUV with a big V-8 and a 33 gallon gas tank - a fill-up will only be $188 for premium. Before we get to what is…

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]]> postcarbon@oilprice.com (Post Carbon) Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:21:04 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Are-Americans-Becoming-Inured-to-High-Gas-Prices.html Factors that could make $5 a Gallon Gas the Norm http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Factors-that-could-make-5-a-Gallon-Gas-the-Norm.html It is hard to miss the recent rise in gasoline (gas) prices in the United States, and the rumblings that it has generated in the national press. It is a concern that has already entered the on-going political debate with one Republican candidate promising that, once elected, he will bring the price of gas down to $2.00. (The unreality of that prediction has been explained earlier.) As a result there have been a number of reasons projected (for example here) as to why, in contrast with most seasons, gas prices are rising at the present, in the season…

]]> summersd@oilprice.com (Dave Summers) Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:57:19 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Factors-that-could-make-5-a-Gallon-Gas-the-Norm.html Reasons Why Gasoline Prices are so High http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Reasons-Why-Gasoline-Prices-are-so-High.html Here in northern California gasoline is now retailing for $4.20 a gallon. Prices haven’t been this high since mid-2008. Forecasts for $5 per gallon gas in the US this summer are now commonplace. What’s driving prices up? Most analysts focus mostly on two factors: worries about Iran and increased demand from a perceived global economic recovery. However, as we will see, there are also often-overlooked systemic factors in the oil industry that almost guarantee us less-affordable oil. Iranian Poker Iran wants nuclear power and (probably)…

]]> postcarbon@oilprice.com (Post Carbon) Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:06:04 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Reasons-Why-Gasoline-Prices-are-so-High.html Bill O'Reilly's Confused Approach to Solving High Gas Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Bill-OReillys-Confused-Approach-to-Solving-High-Gas-Prices.html Last week I was interviewed by Alan Colmes from Fox News Radio on the topic of gas prices. During the interview, he mentioned an idea that Bill O'Reilly has proposed, and that is to address gasoline prices by discouraging U.S. oil companies from exporting their products. The critics of Bill's proposal have generally focused on the notion that "We can't tell the oil companies where to sell their product." However, there is a far more fundamental issue, and that is that the basic facts of his proposal are based on an erroneous assumption. Let's first…

]]> pir@oilprice.com (Robert Rapier) Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:45:08 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Bill-OReillys-Confused-Approach-to-Solving-High-Gas-Prices.html Politics, Pandering and Petroleum Prices http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Politics-Pandering-and-Petroleum-Prices.html Oil prices were up more than $1 per barrel by Friday after the IAEA proclaimed that Iran was ramping up its enrichment activity, continuing a rally that began more than a month ago. Lingering concerns over oil-rich Iran is in part the reason for the rally, which makes its way to the pocket books of consumers by way of higher gasoline prices. However, with campaign season in full swing in the United States ahead of the November presidential elections, it's likely the politicking and speculation are contributing to the energy woes. The U.S.…

]]> dg@oilprice.com (Daniel J. Graeber) Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:10:28 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Politics-Pandering-and-Petroleum-Prices.html Natural Gas Analysis for the Week of February 27, 2012 http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Natural-Gas-Analysis-for-the-Week-of-February-27-2012.html April natural gas continued to consolidate last week, but the weak close could mean another test of the support. Last week, the market sold off sharply after testing downtrending resistance at 2.7250. This has put the market in a position to break into uptrending Gann angle support at 2.6380 or 2.5380. A successful test of these two support angles will mean that buyers are stepping up and that a secondary higher bottom may be forming. If this occurs then all it is going to take is a breakout above 2.7250 to fuel an acceleration to the upside. Of…

]]> axempire@oilprice.com (FX Empire) Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:50:12 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Natural-Gas-Analysis-for-the-Week-of-February-27-2012.html Peak Oil's Affect on Gasoline Prices in 2012 http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Peak-Oils-Affect-On-Gasoline-Prices-In-2012.html In recent days there has been much discussion in the press about what might happen to gasoline prices in the coming year. Cognizant of the fact that retail gasoline is currently running nearly 30 cents per gallon higher than it was in January 2008 the year when prices topped out at a national average of $4.11 and that gasoline futures have risen by 30 cents a gallon in the last few weeks, there is reason for concern. Typical of the stories is one from the Los Angeles Times that quotes Tom Kloza, long-time chief analyst for the Oil Price Information…

]]> postcarbon@oilprice.com (Post Carbon) Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:27:50 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Peak-Oils-Affect-On-Gasoline-Prices-In-2012.html New Report Shows Motorists How to Spend Less Money on Gasoline http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/New-Report-Shows-Motorists-How-To-Spend-Less-Money-On-Gasoline.html For many the idea that operating a motor vehicle can be much cheaper is a non-starting idea. Their real world experience won’t support the facts because their situation is most likely urban – or they’ll just lazy about taking care of their machines. Hypermilers, a term for those working at every inch of travel from every drop aren’t going to get a lift from what follows, but the folks at the University of Michigan have put real research into the basics that hypermilers use to go very far and the rest of us can use to save a bunch of money…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:39:59 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/New-Report-Shows-Motorists-How-To-Spend-Less-Money-On-Gasoline.html Bachmann's $2 Gas Price Promise - Naive or Dishonest? http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Bachmanns-2-Gas-Price-Promise-Naive-Or-Dishonest.html Like many of you, I am often unhappy with our political leaders. One thing that annoys me the most is that many will say or do just about anything to get elected. By now, you have surely heard the news that Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has promised a return to $2/gallon gasoline if she is elected president: GOP candidate Michele Bachmann: I’ll bring back $2 gas NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — President Michele Bachmann has a promise: $2 gas. “Under President Bachmann you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again,” Bachmann…

]]> pir@oilprice.com (Robert Rapier) Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:22:31 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Bachmanns-2-Gas-Price-Promise-Naive-Or-Dishonest.html Oil Price Drop offering No Relief for Motorists as Gas Prices Remain Unchanged http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Oil-Price-Drop-Offering-No-Relief-For-Motorists-As-Gas-Prices-Remain-Unchanged.html The Reuters Jefferies CRB Index is down 8% so far in May with almost every single commodity in the index registering red. Even the ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East and North Africa has not been able to shield the ever bullish crude oil from the commodity rout. Both Nymex WTI and ICE Brent suffered heavy losses. In the two weeks ending Friday, May 13, Brent dropped about 10% to close at $113.83 a barrel on ICE, while WTI plunged 12% to $99.65 a barrel at Nymex, and RBOB gasolne futures for June also lost 8% to around $3.0766 a gallon.…

]]> chuld@oilprice.com (Dian L. Chu) Sun, 15 May 2011 0:07:42 GMT http://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Oil-Price-Drop-Offering-No-Relief-For-Motorists-As-Gas-Prices-Remain-Unchanged.html