U.S. Gasoline Cheapest Since Mid-May After Rout at Pumps

[Purveyor]

by Christine Harvey
July 12, 2015 — 4:28 PM EDT

Drivers paid an average $2.8328 a gallon for regular gasoline at U.S. pumps over the past two weeks, the lowest since May 15, according to Lundberg Survey Inc.

Retail prices slid 1.66 cents in the period through July 10 and are down 3.34 cents since June 12. Gasoline was cheapest in Jackson, Mississippi, at $2.42 a gallon, according to the survey, which is based on information obtained at about 2,500 filling stations by the Camarillo, California-based company.

Gasoline retreated at U.S. pumps in the past month as falling crude-oil prices reduced refiners’ costs for producing the motor fuel. Nationwide gasoline supplies rose 1.2 million barrels to 218 million in the week ended July 3, the biggest increase since April, government data showed. Retail gasoline is almost 84 cents lower than a year ago, according to Lundberg.

“The slide in crude-oil prices has been a gift to refiners, who are passing those cost cuts through the system and down to the consumer,” said Trilby Lundberg, president of the survey. “It’s likely we’ll see another national decline at the pump as refiners continue slashing wholesale prices for retailers and distributors.”

West Texas Intermediate slipped $6.89 to $52.74 a barrel in the period covered by the survey. Gasoline futures declined 3.2 cents to $2.0165 a gallon in that same time.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-12/u-s-gasoline-cheapest-since-mid-may-after-rout-at-pumps

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Not so fast,

we just got hit with a 25-40 cent increase here in Vegas and LA. Can you say,rigged.

[Purveyor]

3. The situation on the west coast is addressed in the article. "California Crisis"

California ’Crisis’

A separate survey showed that California drivers paid an average $3.6073 a gallon for regular gasoline on July 11, about 12 cents higher than the previous day, according to Lundberg.

“Southern California markets are experiencing a supply crisis because of refinery issues,” Lundberg said.

Los Angeles-area refineries operated by Phillips 66, Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. were said to be producing at reduced rates last week due to maintenance, people familiar with the matter said July 10. Exxon Mobil Corp. continued work on multiple units at its Torrance, California, site, including a fluid catalytic cracker that was damaged in an explosion in February.

[hack89]

4. California and Nevada have unique gas formulas

due to their environmental laws. California gas is refined just in California - they cannot import refined gas from other states. Foreign oil companies had slowed down crude exports to California because prices had fallen and there were more lucrative markets. Now that prices are rising, imports of crude will rise.

http://abc7.com/business/why-are-gas-prices-spiking-in-socal/846867/

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Ouch,do you really buy that line.

Most of our Fuel here in the Valley is sourced out of Salt Lake City Refineries. And if you go to Reno area it comes out of the Sac area refineries and the pricing in and east of Reno are 25-30cents cheaper. This B.S. about Refinery outages is just that. It is all about the Refined Product Price set in Chicago and New York. Your are saying Cali has a different blend formula than say Oregon our any other place,not,it is all blended fuel using Ethanol and that is usually 10% with various Name Brands adding their propitiatory additives. As far as Crude,Cali Refineries are now allowed to buy Alaskan crude,in saying that,Japan and Korea as well as China must be full up. It is all about fleecing the public.

[hack89]

10. Perhaps you should actually read my link?

especially the part about crude imports falling due to falling prices in California

[Wellstone ruled]

14. Yes I did read it.

Cali crude source now includes Alaskan Crude which was embargoed form West Coast Refineries previously. And what we are seeing is a so called manufactured short fall,I call it price fixing and that is being used as leverage to relax EPA rules. Price Fixing my friend.

[hack89]

15. ok. nt

[Wellstone ruled]

17. Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Sucks when you have to question the original article Author. Our news media has zero morals or honesty. All about I got the money.

[Wellstone ruled]

16. Nevada does not have

any stringent EPA rules or Laws.. We are a BUSINESS friendly State. Just a dumping ground for anything anytime anywhere. We now are a Libertarian Utopia.

[hack89]

18. Nevada Cleaner Burning Gasoline (LVCBG) is what is sold in Nevada to meet EPA requirements

Nevada has to meet federal Clean Air Act standards - here is the EPA site listing all specific things Nevada has to do regarding air quality.

http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/actions/nv.html

From the California government web site listing Motor fuels consumed in California:

Nevada Cleaner Burning Gasoline (LVCBG): Finished motor gasoline formulated for use in motor vehicles, the composition and properties of which meet the requirements of the cleaner burning gasoline regulations promulgated by the state of Nevada. This category excludes Nevada's cleaner burning gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (CBGBOB).

http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/gasoline/types_of_gasoline.html

[Wellstone ruled]

21. Which means 10%

ethanol blended with Regular Fuel. And yes they are required to use cleaner crude,in saying that,most of the Refineries have installed the latest Cracking Tower Technology for cleaner refined product. Refined fuels are a fungible product. Once it is on the Road,that load can be bought and sold many times before it hits it's final end user. And it could end up in any state. Doubt me,ask the Guy unloading fuel at your local Gas Station sometime. What one really has to watch for is the blending of ethanol and water in your fuel supply. Common Summertime crap in the Midwest.

[MindPilot]

2. ahem...cough..umm, no.

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose 15.2 cents Sunday to $3.902 after increasing 16.7 cents on Saturday and 8.4 cents on Friday.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/29529949/san-diego-gas-prices-continue-to-rise

[hack89]

5. California gas is a unique formula sold only in California

it therefore has its unique laws of supply and demand that may not be in synch with the rest of the country.

http://abc7.com/business/why-are-gas-prices-spiking-in-socal/846867/

[MindPilot]

7. Yes, I know that.

But every year it seems like that fact catches the producers by surprise. And it didn't cost 16 cents more per gallon to make it on Saturday than it did on Friday which apparently cost 8 cents more than on Thursday.

"Different Formula" is a bullshit excuse.

[hack89]

9. Did you read the part about oil imports falling

as foreign oil suppliers shifted their crude to more lucrative markets? California gas is refined only in California and depends on oil imports.

[Wellstone ruled]

11. This is nothing more than a

attempt to destroy Environmental Laws. Has less to do with supply or demand,we are seeing a crisis created by Big Oil to jack the consumer into thinking,no more EPA. If the Wholesalers are bringing product from out of State,then if this article fails to tell us they will be selling illegal product. Yes.

[hack89]

12. They are not bringing in out of state gas

the article specifically states that crude imports dropped due to low prices but now crude suppliers are rushing product to California to take advantage of the rise in prices. Things will stabilize and prices will drop in relatively short order.

[olddots]

6. today's gas prices in L.A. regular 3.90 $ and up

We complain but do nothing about it.

[hack89]

13. It is the price you pay for the strictest environmental laws in America

your gas is unique to California. What we need is for all of America to adopt California's clean air standards.

[yeoman6987]

19. If only LA had clean air. The smog is a huge problem there.

[hack89]

20. LA has had two decades of improving air quality

A 20-year study finds that millennial children in Southern California breathe easier than youngsters who came of age in the ’90s, for a reason as clear as the air in Los Angeles today.

The USC Children’s Health Study measured lung development between the ages of 11 and 15 and found large gains for children studied from 2007 to 2011, compared to children of the same age in the same communities from 1994-98 and 1997-2001.

The gains in lung function paralleled improving air quality in the communities studied and across the Los Angeles basin, as policies to fight pollution took hold.

Local, state and federal regulations have achieved large reductions in pollutants in the Los Angeles basin. In 2011, the concentration of NO2 was below the federal standard throughout the basin. PM2.5 was below the federal standard over most of the basin and near the standard in a small area straddling Riverside and San Bernardino counties. However, the federal standard was lowered in 2012, leaving the five communities in the study at or slightly above the new standard.

https://news.usc.edu/76761/las-environmental-success-story-cleaner-air-healthier-kids/

[MindPilot]

22. Just curious, you seem to have a lot vested in the oil companies' side of this story.

Why are you so adamant about countering the opinions of people who have lived in CA for decades?

Yes, CA law requires a seasonal blend change, and yes air in LA is cleaner that it has been pretty much since most of us can remember, but none of that changes the fact that we get this same dog and pony show every damn year. This time, it is "refinery capacity" , net time, it will be "transportation costs". All oil company bullshit.

[hack89]

23. I like to dig a little deeper than the superficial "everyone knows" kind of analysis.

and how do you know that I didn't live in California for an extended period - I did spend 20 years in the Navy after all.