Always been that way. Quick to rise and slow to fall. Any little excuse or hint of interruptions sends the oil market into a frenzy. It'll come back down, just not as fast as it went up.
That's how I've always seen it too. Any excuse to jack up the price followed by a slow descent.
Where I live, ever since January 2025 the price would spike .25 to .30 a gallon, then come back down over a month only to suddenly spike again in one day. Over and over all last year. Only the last three months until now it's stayed down with little fluctuation.
Logic would say as much, unfortunately that's just not how it works. To answer your question, I really don't know. It's a complicated business that I don't know much about. I'm sure it has to do with purchase dates and futures. Say they ordered when it was $101/barrel and that's the shipment they got, they're going to sell it at an elevated price accordingly until their next shipment order at $74/brl and then price, theoretically, would come down. Of course there is corruption and price gougers involved too, if they are smart enough to fly under the radar with it.
That's how I assume it works. They'll sell the gas depending on the price they paid for it. Of course they won't miss out on a chance to gouge the customers to make more profit whenever they can.
I’m curious how much of this phenomenon is exclusive to CA. Other states don’t seem to have refineries shutting down making them have to import as more gasoline.
It's mainly because gas stations don't set their current gas and diesel prices based on what they paid for the stock they're currently using, but based on what they predict they'll have to pay for their next shipment.
When oil prices are volatile, like, say, because of a war with Iran, then there's a lot of uncertainty of what their next delivery will cost them, so they leave the prices high to build in a buffer. Just because prices fell yesterday doesn't mean that it's going to stay the same or go lower tomorrow. It might spike back up again tomorrow.
I don't think gas station owners are getting that rich on gasoline and diesel. From what I understand, they're very low margin products.
They typically make most of their money on soft drinks, snacks, and nicotine products.
I'll also add that the location of the gas station plays a role as well; right off the interstate or along a highway is cheaper than a gas station closer to a downtown area.
As every economics teacher will tell you, where the Supply curve = the Demand curve => the Price.
As it turns out, every economics teacher is wrong. COMPLETELY wrong.
It's not their fault that they are wrong. They are taught that by the wrong teachers before them, all the way to the beginning of "education." Everyone knows "education" isn't necessarily the truth. What people don't know (because of education itself), is that it's purposefully false, an Illusion. It's closer to call it "programming" than "education." This programming is a carefully created belief system (all false) made by the monopoly that controls the world to create the Grand Illusion (AKA the Matrix).
"Price" doesn't have anything to do with supply or demand. It actually comes from whatever the fuck They want it to be, usually as a function of social engineering.
Who are the "They?" Some have called them "the Cabal." Others have called them the Banksters. Some have called them the Jews. Of course it's not "the Jews," because it's not all of the Jews. Indeed, they use this overgeneralization fallacy as a shield for the unbelievably evil actions of some of the Jews. But it is SOME of the Jews, working towards broader goals that can only be called "Jewish." Everyone would know that if education was an attempt at teaching the truth instead of the programming that it actually is.
So "Price" comes, ultimately, from the evil actions of some very rich Jews who are manipulating the world through their social engineering programs.
That's why gas is higher than you would think today.
The US is energy independent, or darn close to it.
YET our domestic suppliers base costs on the global market??!!
OK, they will sell the energy from OUR soil, to foreigners at a profit, instead of using it for domestic supply at a reasonable cost?!?
FIE upon them, FIE!. Energy is a national and strategic resource. These corps should NOT be able to export or speculate on global energy prices!!!
Time for an EO! A Big Beautiful EO! That corps cannot sell US energy products until and unless domestic needs are met at reasonable costs, which are not BTW dependent on going through the straits of Hormuz! and should NOT have to reflect those added risk costs! SHEESH!
But the larger picture is that gasoline is an extremely low margin commodity.
A typical service station underground tank is 10,000 to 30,000 gallons. If they're selling it at $4.05/gallon, it's probably costing them $4.00/gallon. That's $40,000 in cost to fill that 10,000 gallon tank and they get $40,500 in revenue if they sell it all.
When the big truck comes out to fill that tank, you have to pay for the gas.
If gas has risen 10c a gallon, you're already short $500 from your previous sales just to refill your tank. So you have to not only add your 5 cent profit, but if you expect it's going to rise another 10c, you have to price that in too so you can pay for the next truck. Every gas station is playing the same game so everyone raises their prices in anticipation. The guy that just filled up at the low price can either make more profit or keep his prices a bit lower as long as his supply holds up. The guy who just got a refill at the high price has no choice but to raise his prices to cover his costs and what he expects them to be next time.
When the cost come down, of course the price lags. Unless it drops like a rock, the only short term penalty for higher prices is slow sales. But everyone's paying basically the same cost so they're going to try to wring as much profit out as they can to build a hedge for the next rise or in case the drop is temporary. If the price falls fast enough (which almost never happens, BTW), they risk a full tank of gas that they can't sell for what they paid for it.
This same dynamic applies all the way through the pipeline (pun intended). The tankers load up at one cost and it's a different cost at the destination and another cost to refill. Refinery gets it's inputs at one cost but the cost of replacement product rises before it goes through the refining process. Ditto with the storage tank farms, pipeline companies and even truck transportation.
It's all true of any low-margin product, but gasoline is the one we're almost all exposed to.
Refined fuel market is manipulated. "Cartel middlemen" jacking the price because they were instructed to do so (or just based on the false narrative being pushed), just like beef prices. Fortunately, the solution is the threat of criminal prosecution for "price collusion" by the DOJ to force backdown or deals cut. Just ask the egg and beef cartels how that's working out for them. Several indictments have been issued, and you may see civil asset forfeitures on top of corporate funds frozen (suspected).
The US is currently swimming in oil, but limited in refinery capacity and distribution due to forced refinery and pipeline shutdowns by Governors in blue states (see CA as EXHIBIT#1). Fuel capacity is also limited somewhat intentionally by state rules on "fuel mixture content requirements" specifically to keep prices high so they can collect MAXIMUM TAXES (which are a % of price). New refinery announcement today is hopefully the first of many.
Supply and demand. Supply was disrupted, albeit temporarily, due to the war in Iran. When the war ends and oil transports at its normal levels, gas prices will return to their previous levels.
State and local taxes are significantly different…criminally in some cases. Typically communist states adding more and more taxes, and then fees which they claim aren’t taxes but are. Calirado is working to add a fuel ‘fee’.
I recall when Biden was selected. The price of gas went up 2-3 cents a day in anticipation of his presidency. By the time he "took office", 8 weeks later,the price of gas was up almost 50% in my area. Petro companies have made political pocketbook decision for a long long time.
Tesla's 4680 cells are now made with the dry electrode process. Solid state is still a couple years away. Gas prices be damned. It's all the state and local taxes governments pack on top too. They say it's for the roads but we all know much is being siphoned off for other things, most of which voters would never agree to.
To extend your Namibia analogy - if they were telling the world "we are starving and desperate, so we will pay $21 for bread, whoever has it, get it here and we pay $21"
If that happened, then your bread guy would be thinking "Unless people pay me $20 for bread, I will send all I have to Namibia"
But, having said that, yes, they are slow to ease prices and quick to raise them. It's always annoyed me, they might have a giant tank of gas under the forecourt they filled up when it was cheap, but they will happily sell that for the new price and rake in the cash.
Trump is cutting off the supply of dirty money the deep state collects for one reason, because they want every American to live just above the poverty level. Poor people use mass transport while the middle class has to put expensive fuel i to their vehicles. Keep the price up and keep the people poor. Expect more oil flow disruptions I to the future. Gas in Cali will be 10 buck a gallon and five around the country. But only if the flow slows for some reason, even if that reason is a small pipeline in Belarus gets blown up.
Not to mention, the alleged purpose of the futures markets was to help producers / growers (for ag products), etc. be able to hedge their production costs so that prices could be more stable for consumers. One more lie.
A bunch of people buy paper gasoline and suppose higher prices in the future. Thus they only sell their paper gasoline at those higher prices. Which is why gas prices always follow the news, even when its bull shit - 'oh em gee, a place is getting attacked, better funnel money into commodity speculation!'
Its also why bread prices jumped when the elites started Ukraine's war. They are 'the breadbasket' and thus flour was gonna get scarce, rite guiz?
It should be one of the financial instruments that's banned, along with shorts and loans for stocks.
There’s also the closing of the refineries, the commie politicians adding more gas tax in CA, and the mileage tax. Still I don’t think we are approaching the precipice.
Always been that way. Quick to rise and slow to fall. Any little excuse or hint of interruptions sends the oil market into a frenzy. It'll come back down, just not as fast as it went up.
That's how I've always seen it too. Any excuse to jack up the price followed by a slow descent.
Where I live, ever since January 2025 the price would spike .25 to .30 a gallon, then come back down over a month only to suddenly spike again in one day. Over and over all last year. Only the last three months until now it's stayed down with little fluctuation.
Behold... the power of money grubbing whores...
ANY excuse they can use to increase margins, they will. For as long as possible.
These people do not care about you. At all...at all ...AT ALL!
u/#catdance
Logic would say as much, unfortunately that's just not how it works. To answer your question, I really don't know. It's a complicated business that I don't know much about. I'm sure it has to do with purchase dates and futures. Say they ordered when it was $101/barrel and that's the shipment they got, they're going to sell it at an elevated price accordingly until their next shipment order at $74/brl and then price, theoretically, would come down. Of course there is corruption and price gougers involved too, if they are smart enough to fly under the radar with it.
That's how I assume it works. They'll sell the gas depending on the price they paid for it. Of course they won't miss out on a chance to gouge the customers to make more profit whenever they can.
The conflict isn't over, speculators are speculating.
I’m curious how much of this phenomenon is exclusive to CA. Other states don’t seem to have refineries shutting down making them have to import as more gasoline.
And it hardly ever goes down to the levels it was before the price hike.
Well there's that to begin with.....
It's called greed. Profits are more important than their customers
🎯
Blue states will always keep gas artificially high when someone other than a communist is in office. Just look at Commiefornia, Michigan, etc.
....and PA.
It's mainly because gas stations don't set their current gas and diesel prices based on what they paid for the stock they're currently using, but based on what they predict they'll have to pay for their next shipment.
When oil prices are volatile, like, say, because of a war with Iran, then there's a lot of uncertainty of what their next delivery will cost them, so they leave the prices high to build in a buffer. Just because prices fell yesterday doesn't mean that it's going to stay the same or go lower tomorrow. It might spike back up again tomorrow.
I don't think gas station owners are getting that rich on gasoline and diesel. From what I understand, they're very low margin products.
They typically make most of their money on soft drinks, snacks, and nicotine products.
I'll also add that the location of the gas station plays a role as well; right off the interstate or along a highway is cheaper than a gas station closer to a downtown area.
As every economics teacher will tell you, where the Supply curve = the Demand curve => the Price.
As it turns out, every economics teacher is wrong. COMPLETELY wrong.
It's not their fault that they are wrong. They are taught that by the wrong teachers before them, all the way to the beginning of "education." Everyone knows "education" isn't necessarily the truth. What people don't know (because of education itself), is that it's purposefully false, an Illusion. It's closer to call it "programming" than "education." This programming is a carefully created belief system (all false) made by the monopoly that controls the world to create the Grand Illusion (AKA the Matrix).
"Price" doesn't have anything to do with supply or demand. It actually comes from whatever the fuck They want it to be, usually as a function of social engineering.
Who are the "They?" Some have called them "the Cabal." Others have called them the Banksters. Some have called them the Jews. Of course it's not "the Jews," because it's not all of the Jews. Indeed, they use this overgeneralization fallacy as a shield for the unbelievably evil actions of some of the Jews. But it is SOME of the Jews, working towards broader goals that can only be called "Jewish." Everyone would know that if education was an attempt at teaching the truth instead of the programming that it actually is.
So "Price" comes, ultimately, from the evil actions of some very rich Jews who are manipulating the world through their social engineering programs.
That's why gas is higher than you would think today.
The US is energy independent, or darn close to it.
YET our domestic suppliers base costs on the global market??!!
OK, they will sell the energy from OUR soil, to foreigners at a profit, instead of using it for domestic supply at a reasonable cost?!?
FIE upon them, FIE!. Energy is a national and strategic resource. These corps should NOT be able to export or speculate on global energy prices!!!
Time for an EO! A Big Beautiful EO! That corps cannot sell US energy products until and unless domestic needs are met at reasonable costs, which are not BTW dependent on going through the straits of Hormuz! and should NOT have to reflect those added risk costs! SHEESH!
There's likely some profit taking involved.
But the larger picture is that gasoline is an extremely low margin commodity.
A typical service station underground tank is 10,000 to 30,000 gallons. If they're selling it at $4.05/gallon, it's probably costing them $4.00/gallon. That's $40,000 in cost to fill that 10,000 gallon tank and they get $40,500 in revenue if they sell it all.
When the big truck comes out to fill that tank, you have to pay for the gas.
If gas has risen 10c a gallon, you're already short $500 from your previous sales just to refill your tank. So you have to not only add your 5 cent profit, but if you expect it's going to rise another 10c, you have to price that in too so you can pay for the next truck. Every gas station is playing the same game so everyone raises their prices in anticipation. The guy that just filled up at the low price can either make more profit or keep his prices a bit lower as long as his supply holds up. The guy who just got a refill at the high price has no choice but to raise his prices to cover his costs and what he expects them to be next time.
When the cost come down, of course the price lags. Unless it drops like a rock, the only short term penalty for higher prices is slow sales. But everyone's paying basically the same cost so they're going to try to wring as much profit out as they can to build a hedge for the next rise or in case the drop is temporary. If the price falls fast enough (which almost never happens, BTW), they risk a full tank of gas that they can't sell for what they paid for it.
This same dynamic applies all the way through the pipeline (pun intended). The tankers load up at one cost and it's a different cost at the destination and another cost to refill. Refinery gets it's inputs at one cost but the cost of replacement product rises before it goes through the refining process. Ditto with the storage tank farms, pipeline companies and even truck transportation.
It's all true of any low-margin product, but gasoline is the one we're almost all exposed to.
Logic does not apply. 🙃
Wait till we get a vaccine for the high gas prices
Fast to rise and slow to come down. Is they way they work it.
Every single time.
Short answer: CRIME, lots of crime.
Refined fuel market is manipulated. "Cartel middlemen" jacking the price because they were instructed to do so (or just based on the false narrative being pushed), just like beef prices. Fortunately, the solution is the threat of criminal prosecution for "price collusion" by the DOJ to force backdown or deals cut. Just ask the egg and beef cartels how that's working out for them. Several indictments have been issued, and you may see civil asset forfeitures on top of corporate funds frozen (suspected).
The US is currently swimming in oil, but limited in refinery capacity and distribution due to forced refinery and pipeline shutdowns by Governors in blue states (see CA as EXHIBIT#1). Fuel capacity is also limited somewhat intentionally by state rules on "fuel mixture content requirements" specifically to keep prices high so they can collect MAXIMUM TAXES (which are a % of price). New refinery announcement today is hopefully the first of many.
"... specifically to keep prices high so they can collect MAXIMUM TAXES..."
AND make POTUS look bad. This is one area that they use to do so, by keeping prices high.
Supply and demand. Supply was disrupted, albeit temporarily, due to the war in Iran. When the war ends and oil transports at its normal levels, gas prices will return to their previous levels.
It's a BIG CLUB, and you ain't in it
Simple as.
Diesel is one of the LEAST refined fuels, but costs DOUBLE in some places.
Diesel $6.00 in Spokane. And $4.69 in Post Falls Idaho
State and local taxes are significantly different…criminally in some cases. Typically communist states adding more and more taxes, and then fees which they claim aren’t taxes but are. Calirado is working to add a fuel ‘fee’.
I know all hunting and fishing licensing in this left wing are going up every year also.
I recall when Biden was selected. The price of gas went up 2-3 cents a day in anticipation of his presidency. By the time he "took office", 8 weeks later,the price of gas was up almost 50% in my area. Petro companies have made political pocketbook decision for a long long time.
Yeah, theyre raising prices now to hedge
It’s one reason I like solar panels that can charge EVs. Bypass the whole crooked petro industry.
Tesla's 4680 cells are now made with the dry electrode process. Solid state is still a couple years away. Gas prices be damned. It's all the state and local taxes governments pack on top too. They say it's for the roads but we all know much is being siphoned off for other things, most of which voters would never agree to.
I suspect they charge based on what they paid for the gas currently in their tanks. When they buy more, the price would be adjusted to their new cost.
Funny I thought we didn't get our oil from the Middle East.
To extend your Namibia analogy - if they were telling the world "we are starving and desperate, so we will pay $21 for bread, whoever has it, get it here and we pay $21"
If that happened, then your bread guy would be thinking "Unless people pay me $20 for bread, I will send all I have to Namibia"
But, having said that, yes, they are slow to ease prices and quick to raise them. It's always annoyed me, they might have a giant tank of gas under the forecourt they filled up when it was cheap, but they will happily sell that for the new price and rake in the cash.
Trump is cutting off the supply of dirty money the deep state collects for one reason, because they want every American to live just above the poverty level. Poor people use mass transport while the middle class has to put expensive fuel i to their vehicles. Keep the price up and keep the people poor. Expect more oil flow disruptions I to the future. Gas in Cali will be 10 buck a gallon and five around the country. But only if the flow slows for some reason, even if that reason is a small pipeline in Belarus gets blown up.
Not to mention, the alleged purpose of the futures markets was to help producers / growers (for ag products), etc. be able to hedge their production costs so that prices could be more stable for consumers. One more lie.
Its called speculation.
A bunch of people buy paper gasoline and suppose higher prices in the future. Thus they only sell their paper gasoline at those higher prices. Which is why gas prices always follow the news, even when its bull shit - 'oh em gee, a place is getting attacked, better funnel money into commodity speculation!'
Its also why bread prices jumped when the elites started Ukraine's war. They are 'the breadbasket' and thus flour was gonna get scarce, rite guiz?
It should be one of the financial instruments that's banned, along with shorts and loans for stocks.
There’s also the closing of the refineries, the commie politicians adding more gas tax in CA, and the mileage tax. Still I don’t think we are approaching the precipice.
It's all based on how much you'll spend