Is something going on that's causing the price of gas to shoot up? Seems like it's been going up a lot lately.

I've heard the typical "unrest in middle east" which makes sense I suppose. Not really sure though honestly, doesn't the price usually go down about this time?

Is something going on that's causing the price of gas to shoot up? Seems like it's been going up a lot lately.

Some of it involves the devaluation of the dollar that's been caused by a massive increases in GOV debt. You can thank dem's and Obama for their policy’s.
Some of it is caused by a lack of pipeline capacity that Obama's EPA has slowed or blocked.
Far more crude is now being shipped by train than ever before. Train transportation is more expensive and we pay for it at the pump. But as a result a key Obama supporter Warren Buffet is making billions.
Some of it is increased demand and a lack of refining capacity in the right locations.
It's refinery turn around season when maintenance is often done.
since its now virtually impossible to build a new US refinery from scratch since the 70's due to government regulation and environment protest..... as population shifts demand chances locally.
Some of it is caused by Geo political tensions around the world.
Those are facts just off the top of my head.
But there is a great deal more that we are not doing that could help the situation.

Thanks Obama </sarcasm>

http://makeameme.org/media/created/Dont-Judge-Me-3rdlqp.jpg ;)

came across this while looking for another meme

It's hard on the working poor or those living on the edge. I miss my road trips but gas is so high I can't. Oklahoma has many beautiful and interesting places to visit. I miss my motervating.

Cost $77 to fill up my truck a couple days ago. I haven't spent that much on a fill up in a while. On Cue 87 octane 100% gas.

Praise God I have not paid for gas since 1997

Praise God I have not paid for gas since 1997

Running on squirrel power?

Makes me glad I have a Prius in the driveway. $30-something dollars to fill it up and 52 MPG.

http://makeameme.org/media/created/Dont-Judge-Me-3rdlqp.jpg ;)

came across this while looking for another meme
What's so hard about doing the right thing? Seriously. One
doesn't need to be president to know the difference between
intelligence and stupidity. Hey, you're president and you
don't know the difference.

I find myself driving less than I used to drive.
I don't miss it near like I thought I might.

I find myself driving less than I used to drive.
I don't miss it near like I thought I might.
I've been riding my motorcycle, Suzuki Boulevard, whenever possible.
But I'd be doing that anyway.

Seems to me that the Keystone pipeline makes perfect sense.

Seems to me that the Keystone pipeline makes perfect sense.

Why? Do you think that product will be sold here?

I've been riding my motorcycle, Suzuki Boulevard, whenever possible.
But I'd be doing that anyway.

Seems to me that the Keystone pipeline makes perfect sense.

I do too unless it's cold or raining.


Why? Do you think that product will be sold here?


or effect the price of oil on the world market.

Running on squirrel power?
The company I work for has always paid for it.

The company I work for has always paid for it.

I'm sure they don't make you pay for gas when driving the short bus.

I'm sure they don't make you pay for gas when driving the short bus.
Yet it's the people who actually ride the short bus who are the people who need to ask what's "causing the price of gas to shoot up"....
because they don't understand even fundamental economics.
A job that pay's for your gas unusual isn't a short bus job.

Yet it's the people who actually ride the short bus who are the people who need to ask what's "causing the price of gas to shoot up"....
because they don't understand even fundamental economics.
A job that pay's for your gas unusual isn't a short bus job.

Sorry, I didn't think I needed to use the </sarcasm> tag but I guess I was wrong.

I'm sure they don't make you pay for gas when driving the short bus.

As long as I'm driving the bus......there'll always be room for for riders like u.

Yet it's the people who actually ride the short bus who are the people who need to ask what's "causing the price of gas to shoot up"....
because they don't understand even fundamental economics.
A job that pay's for your gas unusual isn't a short bus job.
If we open up new capacity; someone somewhere else will cut off the equal amount of supply to keep the price where it's at.

Sorry, I didn't think I needed to use the </sarcasm> tag but I guess I was wrong.

When you have got to ask about some of the most basic fundamentals about economics that I learned about while in Junior High no amount of defection by you is going to change what you know or don't know about one of the most basic and important commodity's in the entire world.

If we open up new capacity; someone somewhere else will cut off the equal amount of supply to keep the price where it's at.

How do you know that?

That's not what happen in the 1990's when crude dropped to around $10 a barrel

^ I'd say the 65 year trend has been for oil prices to increase.

3/5 out of the large dips in price, has resulted in a bull run that set the price higher than the drop in price.

1/5 of the time, the drop resulted in a bull run that fell short of the preceding drop in price, but the second drop and bull run surpased the preceding two price drops.

So 4 out of 5 times, a drop in oil price has resulted in an eventual rebound to a price HIGHER than the prior.

Only once has the low price of a drop in price, been lower than the previous drop. The trend is for each peak and each valley to be higher than the previous.

http://i.gyazo.com/a9c9fbd4023d7a367753ce54e7dff5ab.png

That's true^ but its probably basically true with most commodity's....
But sometimes crude oil has been used as a political weapon, probably more than any other commodity.
Sometimes crude has been over produced and sometimes the production has been curtailed.... depending on who wants what.
But this can have a huge impact on the economy.

If we open up new capacity; someone somewhere else will cut off the equal amount of supply to keep the price where it's at.


But when you say this^ Crude oil production has gone up significantly over time.... they don't automatically cut production someplace else. Current crude oil prices are still well below 2008 peak prices.

True. I guess my point is, there will always be some factor that brings prices back up. Whether that is pure fundamental market forces (price dropping to where the cost to drill is more than the cost of the oil, so production slows), political action, war, etc.

I am not against oil at all. I don't think the oil industry is evil, but as with every industry, the sector will do what's best for it, first. Just like in my industry, if the price of a ticket doesn't cover the cost of the flight, they will cut capacity to force prices up. I don't see that as evil at all. But just the "cost" of doing business. When oil prices come down, a lot of plays may not be profitable, so production will stop in those areas. Supply will come down, and the price will go up.

Oil companies work the same way as most sectors do, and I don't necessarily blame them.

True. I guess my point is, there will always be some factor that brings prices back up. Whether that is pure fundamental market forces (price dropping to where the cost to drill is more than the cost of the oil, so production slows), political action, war, etc.

I am not against oil at all. I don't think the oil industry is evil, but as with every industry, the sector will do what's best for it, first. Just like in my industry, if the price of a ticket doesn't cover the cost of the flight, they will cut capacity to force prices up. I don't see that as evil at all. But just the "cost" of doing business. When oil prices come down, a lot of plays may not be profitable, so production will stop in those areas. Supply will come down, and the price will go up.

Oil companies work the same way as most sectors do, and I don't necessarily blame them.While I don't disagree with what your saying over all..... So much of the worlds crude oil production is controlled directly by nation states such as OPEC members... that individual company's have had very little influence over its price in the world for many decades.

I was biting my lip while typing oil companies. I figured it would be a little more macro than what I was thinking. I'm a micro-guy --details.

Oh man, gotta love how this turned political so quickly.

It actually has nothing to do with politics. The price goes UP in the summer because the refineries have to tweak their methods to remove MORE of the volatile components from the finished product. That way the liquid gasoline doesn't vaporize off while it's sitting in your tank on a 90 degree day.

Popular Mechanics: Winter-Blend vs. Summer-Blend (http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/summer-blend-vs-winter-blend-gasoline-whats-the-difference-13747431)

At the end of the day most people don't even care or take the time to inform themselves because they'd rather blame the politicians or the greedy oil refiners. Hopefully this answers the question for anyone who was genuinely interested.

Why? Do you think that product will be sold here?

Umm, probably. The Canadian companies aren't going to sell crude oil to US refiners to be shipped ALL the way down to the Gulf, only to turn around and buy the finished product back from them and have it shipped ALL the way back. If they wanted the finished products for themselves they would just build new refineries in Canada to process their own crude. The refined products would be the property of the US refineries and they could sell those products to whoever they choose.

I never pay attention to gas prices. I'm going to buy regardless so why stress over something I'm powerless to change.

Oh man, gotta love how this turned political so quickly.

It actually has nothing to do with politics. The price goes UP in the summer because the refineries have to tweak their methods to remove MORE of the volatile components from the finished product. That way the liquid gasoline doesn't vaporize off while it's sitting in your tank on a 90 degree day.

Popular Mechanics: Winter-Blend vs. Summer-Blend (http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/summer-blend-vs-winter-blend-gasoline-whats-the-difference-13747431)

At the end of the day most people don't even care or take the time to inform themselves because they'd rather blame the politicians or the greedy oil refiners. Hopefully this answers the question for anyone who was genuinely interested.

There are other factors such as whats on your link but actually the high price of gasoline has a lot to do with politics, both foreign and domestic.
Crude trades with fluctuations any time Geopolitical tensions increases or decrease..... These prices are directly reflected at the pump.
There is a lot more we could do domesticity to produce large amounts of crude oil and NG but for political reasons it's kept off limits. We could also approve and or speed up the development of pipelines and other infrastructure. The delay of the Keystone XL pipeline is as political as it gets!

I have made a decent amount of money trading the politics of oil!

True. I guess my point is, there will always be some factor that brings prices back up. Whether that is pure fundamental market forces (price dropping to where the cost to drill is more than the cost of the oil, so production slows), political action, war, etc.Your graph would be much more meaningful had you used something like "gold" rather than "U.S. dollar" as the unit of value. That would have cancelled out much of the political noise caused by not-visible-to-most devaluation of almost all the world's currencies.

It might also have made said devaluation more apparent to the casual reader. Just one semi-relevant example: at my first job, more years ago than I like to remember, I was paid 50 cents an hour. Today when I do consulting work, my rate is $100 an hour. While it's true that I have much more training and experience now, and I work in a field that's much less crowded than retail sales, those factors don't justify a 20,000% increase in the rate!

More to the point, 60 years ago one could buy a cup of coffee for five cents, with refills. Today, most places charge more than $1.95 and many don't provide refills. That's almost a 40-time increase in the price of coffee -- or the same-sized decrease in the real value of the currency involved. And if you go back 100 years, it's even worse. Before WW1, many folk wouldn't earn $100 in a whole year, but they didn't need to in order to live.

My point is that much, if not all, of the apparent increase in the cost of gasoline is a result of currency devaluation on a global scale (not just one or two nations, but most if not all of them).

There are other factors such as whats on your link but actually the high price of gasoline has a lot to do with politics, both foreign and domestic.
Crude trades with fluctuations any time Geopolitical tensions increases or decrease..... These prices are directly reflected at the pump.
There is a lot more we could do domesticity to produce large amounts of crude oil and NG but for political reasons it's kept off limits. We could also approve and or speed up the development of pipelines and other infrastructure. The delay of the Keystone XL pipeline is as political as it gets!

I have made a decent amount of money trading the politics of oil!

I understand that there are other forces that act on the price of oil, and thereby the price of gasoline, and I think the article I posted even makes note of that. I was just answering the OP's original question, and saying that gasoline prices DO go up around this time of the year (regardless of other factors) because the refineries are forced to tweak their process to purify the gasoline more. Thereby raising the cost of refining the crude.

I was just pointing out that everyone's first answer seemed to be politics, regardless of the fact that refining the oil becomes fundamentally more expensive this time of the year.

Your graph would be much more meaningful had you used something like "gold" rather than "U.S. dollar" as the unit of value. That would have cancelled out much of the political noise caused by not-visible-to-most devaluation of almost all the world's currencies.

It might also have made said devaluation more apparent to the casual reader. Just one semi-relevant example: at my first job, more years ago than I like to remember, I was paid 50 cents an hour. Today when I do consulting work, my rate is $100 an hour. While it's true that I have much more training and experience now, and I work in a field that's much less crowded than retail sales, those factors don't justify a 20,000% increase in the rate!

More to the point, 60 years ago one could buy a cup of coffee for five cents, with refills. Today, most places charge more than $1.95 and many don't provide refills. That's almost a 40-time increase in the price of coffee -- or the same-sized decrease in the real value of the currency involved. And if you go back 100 years, it's even worse. Before WW1, many folk wouldn't earn $100 in a whole year, but they didn't need to in order to live.

My point is that much, if not all, of the apparent increase in the cost of gasoline is a result of currency devaluation on a global scale (not just one or two nations, but most if not all of them).

It's actually a logarithmic graph. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally added the $ signs. It should be a percent sign.

http://news.yahoo.com/oil-price-seesaws-near-104-amid-ukraine-tensions-122254584--finance.htmlOil

Oil price seesaws near $104 amid Ukraine tensions

I understand that there are other forces that act on the price of oil, and thereby the price of gasoline, and I think the article I posted even makes note of that. I was just answering the OP's original question, and saying that gasoline prices DO go up around this time of the year (regardless of other factors) because the refineries are forced to tweak their process to purify the gasoline more. Thereby raising the cost of refining the crude.

I was just pointing out that everyone's first answer seemed to be politics, regardless of the fact that refining the oil becomes fundamentally more expensive this time of the year.
That’s why I mentioned in my first post in this thread that “It's refinery turn around season when maintenance is often done.”

That’s why I mentioned in my first post in this thread that “It's refinery turn around season when maintenance is often done.”

But that means nothing to people who don't know what "maintenance" entails, and it was surrounded by several other reasons if I remember correctly. Nobody who was reading your first post would have come away with the understanding that the type of gasoline being produced changes. It just sounded like you were talking about general mechanical maintenance.

But that means nothing to people who don't know what "maintenance" entails, and it was surrounded by several other reasons if I remember correctly. Nobody who was reading your first post would have come away with the understanding that the type of gasoline being produced changes. It just sounded like you were talking about general mechanical maintenance.
The turn around is when they change the formulations.... but its also when they do a lot of the required “general mechanical maintenance” which takes up most of the time, particularly when they run into unexpected problems and that's not uncommon.

The turn around is when they change the formulations.... but its also when they do a lot of the required “general mechanical maintenance” which takes up most of the time, particularly when they run into unexpected problems and that's not uncommon.

I get that, and I wasn't trying to one up you or anything. But like I said, most people who aren't familiar with the process wouldn't have understood that based on your first post. Which is why I posted what I did, because nobody else had specifically mentioned it either. A couple posters even thought the price of gasoline traditionally goes DOWN at this time of the year, which is the exact opposite.

I get that, and I wasn't trying to one up you or anything. But like I said, most people who aren't familiar with the process wouldn't have understood that based on your first post. Which is why I posted what I did, because nobody else had specifically mentioned it either. A couple posters even thought the price of gasoline traditionally goes DOWN at this time of the year, which is the exact opposite.

You make a fair point...... but as we can see and as you know. there are many factors..
But you are entirely correct about how many people lack understanding.
That's why IMHO they can support political leaders who make their energy higher priced.... but always seem to be some of the first to complain about high energy prices.

I'm just glad we still have the option to purchase 100% gas here and are not forced to buy E10 or even E15.

Anyone know why E-85 cost more than Gasoline at OnCue. One of them Even had E-85 higher than Premium gas.

I'm just glad we still have the option to purchase 100% gas here and are not forced to buy E10 or even E15.

No kidding.

Ethanol one of the worse ideas that our Fed government has push on us and its not even needed now.
+It's has driven up food cost.
This has cost the economy hundreds of billions in all likelihood

AAA: Oklahoma Gas Prices Hit 7-Month High On Tax Day - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/25252644/aaa-oklahoma-gas-prices-hit-7-month-high-on-tax-day)

Crude moving higher?
This CNBC video talks about the geopolitical tensions that are impacting the crude markets.
This impaces what you pay at the pump.

Crude is setting up for a huge move | Watch the video - Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/video/crude-setting-huge-move-121811847.html)

Umm, probably. The Canadian companies aren't going to sell crude oil to US refiners to be shipped ALL the way down to the Gulf, only to turn around and buy the finished product back from them and have it shipped ALL the way back. If they wanted the finished products for themselves they would just build new refineries in Canada to process their own crude. The refined products would be the property of the US refineries and they could sell those products to whoever they choose.

Where Keystone's oil will go - Sep. 16, 2013 (http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/16/news/economy/keystone-oil/)

On vacation earlier this week and gas in Georgia was around $3.79 for reg :(

I'm sure I'm like a broken record (on many topics) but I remain amazed that car manufacturers are proud of cars that average mpg in the 30s.
Wired’s Autopia Article: The Most Fuel Efficient Gas Cars of All Time
The Most Fuel Efficient Gas Cars of All Time | Autopia | WIRED (http://www.wired.com/2014/05/most-fuel-efficient-cars-ever/)

Automakers are well on their way toward meeting federal regulations requiring that cars get 54.5 mpg by 2025. In fact, more than half of this year’s models get more than 23 mpg (that’s a first!) and almost 12 percent top 30 mpg. And guess what? None gets less than 13 mpg. Things like turbocharging and direct injection, coupled with the rising popularity of hybrid and electric vehicles, play a big role in this.
That said, most of today’s cars fall well short of the all-time greats when it comes to sipping fuel.
We’ve dug up the 10 most fuel-efficient automobiles in history, not counting cheating hybrids or electrics. We also omitted diesel-powered cars, because the fuel has more energy content. “It’s not apples to apples, and not the same if you’re thinking about it on an energy basis,” said Dr. David Cooke, a vehicle analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
It’s worth noting that these are the most fuel efficient cars. Which means they also are among the slowest. And the smallest. And the cheapest, in every definition of that word. They’re as light on amenities as they are long on efficiency. Many of them are from the 1980s and before, and not one of them is going to win any beauty contests. On the other hand, driving a used Geo Metro earns you more eco-cred than buying a new Toyota Prius, and you’ll probably be a whole lot less smug about it, too.
#10: 2012 Smart ForTwo Cabriolet – 36 mpg combined (34 city / 38 highway
#9: 2014 Ford Fiesta SFE FWD – 37 mpg (32/45)
#8: 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage – 37 mpg (34/42)
#7: 2012 Scion iQ – 37 mpg (36/37)
#6: 1995 Geo Metro – 40 mpg (37/44)
#5: 1989 Suzuki Swift – 41 mpg (38/45)
#4: 1985 Suzuki SA310 (AKA Cultus or Swift) – 42 mpg (39/47)
#3: 1986 Chevrolet Sprint ER – 42 mpg (39/47)
#2: 1986 Honda Civic CRX HF – 46 mpg (42/51)
#1: 1990 Geo Metro – 47 mpg (43/52)

I know some of the reasons for this. Governmental regulations require certain safety equipment -- more every year, it seems (Electronic Stability Control in 2012, for example) -- and weight is one of the biggest things that drives mileage down. All the same, I would have thought that here we are almost 20 years more advanced than most of these cars and still not getting better gas mileage.

They are butt-ugly cars, BTW.

"The highest-MPG Honda was the two-seat CRX HF. In 1989 it had a 62 HP engine, manual transmission only, needed 12 secs to go 0-60, and EPA estimates were 49 MPG city/52 MPG highway."

What ever happened to the 50 MPG Honda? (http://cars.about.com/b/2006/05/12/what-ever-happened-to-the-50-mpg-honda.htm)