How come now a days the price soars when a storm enters the Gulf? Before, nothing used to happen. :hmmm:

It's that whole "supply & demand" thing again - right? :rolleyes:

"Nothing used to happen"? Are you suggesting that crude oil prices didn't increase when hurricanes entered the Gulf in the past?

I am not saying anything about the price of crude that I know of, I am stating a fact that the gas prices did not jump where I live every time this happened in the past. I've lived in Houston my whole life, been through many storms, and it wasn't until recently that when these storms entered the Gulf, that the price of gas increased significantly. I was in college when Hurricane Alicia hit Galveston/Houston (1983 I believe) and I filled up all the cars in my household and the price of gas was not any higher than it was before the storm. All throughout the '90's it was the same way too. Now, if this happens, gas rises significantly. I'm not trying to argue with you, as you seem pretty knowledgeable on the subject. I really want to know why? Is it a refining issue? Supply/demand thing? People ditching their bikes in China? What?

Supply and demand, basically. Back then, the supply and demand were not as close together as they are today. ANY disruption causes price increases.

Well that would explain it. Like I said, storms blew in and out and the price never really changed. Now, literally today with Erin and now Dean possibly on the way, the price of gas in Houston has jumped 9 cents (more in some places) since Tuesday. The Chevron station down the street was selling gas for $2.47/gallon (regular unleaded) and now it's $2.56/gallon.

$2.777 national average. I'm surprised it isn't higher.

$2.786 national average. It only went up to $2.80 over the weekend. That's a good sign.

you just love this thread

The thread? No. The topic? Sure, I find it interesting.

Gasoline supplies hit 2-year low

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline supplies dropped last week to their lowest level since Hurricane Katrina slammed into Gulf Coast refineries two years ago, the U.S. government said on Thursday.

But the crunch in stockpiles may not turn out to be a nightmare for drivers at the pumps as road travel is expected to slow with the end of the summer vacation season.

"We're not terribly concerned because we're at the end of the summer and demand for gasoline should start declining over the next several weeks," said Doug MacIntyre, analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Commercial gasoline stockpiles fell 1.5 million barrels to 191.1 million barrels in the week ended August 31, the lowest level since September 2, 2005, when they were at 190.1 million, the EIA said in a report.

The current inventory of gasoline is enough to supply the United States for 19.83 days, the lowest level of demand cover on record, MacIntyre said.

This summer's slide in gasoline stocks comes after a prolonged stretch of problems at the nation's aging oil refineries that has cut into domestic production and buoyed pump prices near $3 a gallon.

Nationwide gasoline prices were $2.81 a gallon on average Thursday, down from the record $3.23 hit in late May, according to the AAA's daily price survey.

MacIntyre said gasoline inventories typically slip at the end of summer as refiners start to focus on production of heating oil for winter, and as fuel suppliers clear out their tanks of summer-grade gasoline to make room for winter-grade.

"Stocks are definitely tight, but the draw down at this time of year is not unusual," he said.

Is this their way of setting us up for no price break this winter? I'm not counting on it going under $2 like it did last year. I think they know they've softened us to the price by now. We'll be lucky to see it go under 2.25 ever again I think.

No, barring any really nasty events, I would guess that it will be in the $2.20 - $2.30 range.

$2.25? LMAO I'd be shocked to see it under $2.75 again. $3/gal is going to be the norm from here on out.

I've been paying around 2.59 in Seattle for a couple of weeks now. It did go up to around 2.65 for Labor day. I figure we'll drop down to around 2.30-2.35 this winter, but I don't think it will get lower. We'll see.

It just doesn't piss me off like it did, I guess I'm used to it.