Crude oil prices!

[rancherman]

Nice 'end of summer' type reprieve on our fuel prices!! Gasoline is right at 3 bucks, E85 is about 2.35, and sigh, diesel is still 3.55.

Oh well, it's better than it was! The 'new' oil coming from N Dakota, and Texas is reportedly pumping hard again... seem we have a glut!

Of course, Russia, and other eastern oil producing nations are pissed!... too bad!

My question is... Is this a natural swing in the cycle of oil prices... or is it because next week is election Tuesday?

[Mopar1973Man]

I wish...

 

Diesel $3.759

Gasoline $3.479

[hex0rz]

I too have been trying to figure out why fuel is dropping so suddenly and drastic. Under 3 for gasoline here and in Spokane they were having a gas war leaving people paying only 1 dollar a gallon! Diesel is about 3.65 here on average though.

[MnTom]

On the news the reports are that crude prices are expected to remain low for the next TWO YEARS!! Diesel here is about $3.549 and gas is $2.999. The reports are that the US is producing way more than used to be produced here and that OPEC is no where near as strong as it used to be so they cannot artificially raise prices like they could before. There is a glut of oil world wide now.

[Killer223]

here in Flagstaff az RUG 2.91 and today i filled up diesel 3.20 yeah all my cans and tanks are full. even if it drops more.. i'm happy for a few weeks.

[rancherman]

Another consideration:

Oil companies really don't appreciate ethanol. period. And since grain prices are at least half of what they were 2 years ago... the ethanol industry will be making money. (unless fuel prices drop) and they magically have! Seems like grain prices and fuel prices are almost parallel. We (farmers) have suspected this for many years!

[MnTom]

Another consideration:

Oil companies really don't appreciate ethanol. period. And since grain prices are at least half of what they were 2 years ago... the ethanol industry will be making money. (unless fuel prices drop) and they magically have! Seems like grain prices and fuel prices are almost parallel. We (farmers) have suspected this for many years!

Are you suspecting some collusion???? Naw, can't be......... :ahhh:

[dorkweed]

Both diesel and gasoline really dropped here about 3 weeks ago.  I filled up with diesel when I got home from NoDak once at $3.45/gal and the next tank at $3.35/gal!!!      Diesel is now up to $3.79/gal;  but gasoline has only crept up a few cents in the same amount of time.

 

Must be the change over to "winterized diesel" and the New England fuel oil spike we see this time of year.

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm not looking forward to being stabbed in the back when I roll into town Monday morning to get fuel. I'm sure its still $3.759 yet.

[anoldbiker]

I've heard that since ISIS is selling crude on the black market, this is helping dropping the prices.

Yes, the USA is flowing more and using less.

OPEC is said to be adding more in the flow to hopefully drop the prices a bit and hoping this will kill the want and need for the USA building the pipeline obama wants dead.

They finally officially announced the "big secret" that the USA has more oil underground still than OPEC has ever had pumped or yet to pump.

Since the last several years with the fuel prices being as they were, many here have bought those smaller high mpg vehicles.

Government is pushing even more for better mpg at an average yearly total production vehicles.

Even though all of the above is going on, many are not driving as much as they use to and they can't sell as much as they use to.

Refineries can run at a lower production limit, but is harder to maintain control and mechanical problems, so they want to keep the rates up.

 

Add this all together and that means lower pump prices. Thank God.

Now how 'bout diesel dropping more ? It's in the same range as jet and heating oil, and with winter coming on, they will be looking at stocking more heating oil and isn't the big holidays coming soon ?.

 

But remember, like california cousin arnold said once at the movies ..... "I'll be back ... and probably higher than before !

[MnTom]

It's in the same range as jet and heating oil, and with winter coming on, they will be looking at stocking more heating oil and isn't the big holidays coming soon ?.

The worst part is diesel fuel is actually a by product of refining gasoline.

[diesel4life]

I can see it now, everyone will be in line to trade their Prius for a 3 ton gas monger, and once the auto industry has made their billions again they'll have us all by the balls and drive the prices right back up to $4+ a gallon.

[anoldbiker]

The 1st refining process was called was a batch process and they only got 4 cuts they wanted and used. The rest was thrown into the local river and set on fire. As time went on they found use for the rest and we have want we have today where 99.9+% is recovered and sold for something. Diesel was for decades considered a crap cut and they were happy when the trucking and the manufacturing  industry found use for it with their equipment. Up till then, they were having problems figuring out what to do with it. Now with the high demand for diesel, Business and personal, it's considered a high demand high profit cut. With the technology of todays industry, there's big money in Jet, Diesel and heating oil from that very specific cut from crude. Same stock, just more refined methods to make a pure cut. With adding additives, it's perfect for the design use. Gasoline, or what is classed as an Alkylate cut is the base stock for all blends of gasoline and is in the lighter naphtha cut, in the same but lighter range than diesel, which is a very heavy naphtha classification. 

 

So winter time, they cut and blend more heating oil than diesel since the demand for jet is always high and except for the trucking industry, personal diesel use drops in demand somewhat in winter. Most people I know tend to drive their diesels less in winter and is willing to pay more in summer so they can play more. And we will pay for it no matter what it is since we will always want to accomplish what ever we really want to do.  

 

They know their buyers base and can manipulate it to a point to make profit. Look at gasoline prices during the year. After all, their products are of 'high' demand. Enjoy the savings for now.

[diesel4life]

An interesting tid bit I copied from a website I stumbled across a few weeks ago. I always assumed the prices of diesel fuel were related to the demand or amount consumed, meaning we consumed as much or more diesel fuel than gasoline. If you think about it, diesel fuel is the back bone of the infrastructure of this country, it fuels the construction, agriculture, mining, trucking, railroad, and marine industry and a large part of the military and emergency service vehicles. These are just a few indutries off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm forgetting as much as I've mentioned. Not to mention heating oil during the winter months. These are mostly large engines under heavy loads consuming mass amounts of fuel compared to the average gasoline powered passenger vehicle that is much more fuel efficient. Boy was I wrong.

Here it is.

"Total vehicle fuel consumption by state in 2009 varies from a low of 0.1 billion gallons in the District of Columbia and 0.4 billion gallons in Vermont to a high of 18 billion gallons in California. Total gasoline consumption ranges from a low of 0.1 billion gallons in the District of Columbia and 0.3 billion gallons in Alaska to a high of 15 billion gallons in California, while total diesel consumption ranges from a low of 0.02 billion gallons in the District of Columbia and 0.05 billion gallons in Hawaii to a high of 3.8 billion gallons in Texas.

The five largest states by total fuel consumption – California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas – consume 56 billion gallons of fuel, which is 33 percent of total vehicle fuel consumption nationwide. The five states consuming the most diesel fuel – California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas – consume 11 billion gallons of diesel fuel, which is 30 percent of diesel vehicle fuel consumption nationwide.

The ratio of diesel consumption to gasoline consumption by state ranges from 1:1.1 in Alaska, where similar quantities of diesel fuel and gasoline are consumed, to 1:9 in Hawaii, which consumes one gallon of diesel fuel for every 9 gallons of gasoline. 80% of crude oil was refined into gasoline in the United States in 2009, while the remaining 20% was refined into specialty fuels like diesel and jet fuel."