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Pain At The Pump
February 27, 2011
Gas prices across the North Escambia area have risen sharply over the past week, and there’s likely more pain at the pump to come this next week.
The average price of a gallon of standard-grade gasoline in Escambia County was $3.33 on Saturday, up eight cents per gallon overnight from Friday. That also an increase of 19 cents a gallon from the week-ago price of $3.14, according to the daily price survey published by AAA. The same gallon of gas was $2.72 a year ago.
Analysts expect prices will continue to rise due to a sharp rise in the price of crude oil — which a high of $103 per barrel last week, the highest price since October 2008. The price at the pump typically lags behind crude oil increases by a few days, so analysts see more increases next week.
Oil price increases have been fueled by the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, the source of much of the world’s oil. John Hofmeister, an ex-president at Shell Oil, has told several national media outlets that $5 a gallon gas could be a reality by 2012.
The highest-ever average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Escambia County was $4.05 in July of 2008.
Pictured: Gas was at $3.35 a gallon slightly higher than the local average of $3.33, Saturday in Davisville. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
40 Responses to “Pain At The Pump”
Speculators speculate every day, the prices don’t go up every day. I can’t think of any who’ve been bailed out because none of them is “too big to fail”.
By the way, “speculate” is a synonym to “guess.” It means they guess at what they can sell something for at some point in the future. If they guess well, they make money; if they guess poorly, they lose money. And just like so many other things, you are free to put your money where the money is and become a speculator.
ed is right on the money .oil companys have little to do with gas prices. neither does supply and demand. these speculators are to blame. they are using free money from the fed. they cant lose. if oil goes down obama will bail them out again and again. and the people will lose again.
David you the man! Good post man just telling it the way it is. Love it.
fact is, unrest in middle east really makes our access to middle eastern oil in a precarious position. no wonder we have opened up deep ocean drilling in the gulf again. just makes me sick in the pit of my stomach. (sorry people that make your living offshore and all that.) but what about all the folks that make their living off the fish. i see where bp is begging some federal judge to dismiss the majority of insurance claims against it claiming they didnt follow the proper procedures when filing. greediness!
Hawghead,
You might as well give up. You can’t outdebate Local Yocal!! David Huie Green, You’re a hoot. Love your posts(usually)!!
Why’d I do Chevron more than once? must be more of the conspiracy
REGARDING:
“Yes the oil companies control the price of gas.”
Just for the fun of it, let’s assume this statement to be true. Now let’s consider what that requires for it to be true. To control the price, all have to agree what to charge. After all, if everybody but ONE holds to one price and the other sells for a dime a barrel (42 gallons) less than the others, that one gets all the sales up to his entire production capacity.
Who are our conspirators?
Hugo Chavez, communist dictator of Venezuela has Citgo.
He must be cooperating with Muhamar Ga-daffy, crazy killer dictator of Libya.
They both have to be cooperating with theft-prone Nigeria on it’s prices.
Royal Dutch Shell and
with British Petroleum and
with Chevron and
with Total of France (French are notoriously cooperative with non French)
and the
Brasilian petroleum company and
with the government of Mexico and their Pemex oil company.
All of these have to be cooperating with the Russian companies (rumored to be untrustworthy),
with the government of Iran,
with the country of Norway and its oil production,
with Egypt and it’s military rulers,
with the Kurds in northern Iraq,
with Murphy Oil Company,
with Chevron,
with Exxon,
with Saudi Arabia,
with Qatar, and
with thousands of other oil companies.
In fact, any of YOU are free to start your own oil company or buy out some other one. Remember if you can sell petroleum pennies cheaper than anybody else, you can sell all you can produce.
Or maybe you can join the vast right wing conspiracy assumed here and make less than you would have otherwise.
Sounds silly, doesn’t it?
That’s because it is.
David to conspiracy theorists
Well look at that a BP sign I guess there getting there loses back.
Actually, Art, I help financially with family and I have a good job & work every day and here’s the real deal. When I see a list of ways people can do “cut-backs” I have to laugh because I live like a person already with “cut-backs”. That’s the “norm” for me. I am still wearing winter boots that I bought 10-11 yrs. ago. Still wearing some clothes that I bought that long ago. I buy from the sales rack when buying anything new. I take very good care of the things I do have and yep, already repairing by sewing by hand rips & tears. I don’t splurge on a lot of make-up. About once every 3 months I do as some people would say “splurge” on the hair which should be done every 6 weeks. I drive a car that gets good gas mileage & watch my driving around so I can go almost 2 weeks on a tank. Not sure with the rising gas prices that I will be able to continue that.
But, I do understand where you are coming from with little things that people can do to manage money.
As far as the whole subject of this article, I don’t believe the cost of oil & gasoline have a whole lot to do with supply & demand. It has more to do with the oil producers & companies using whatever turmoil is going on in the world as an “excuse” to raise prices.
and i sure am sick to death of going out and needing to buy something little like a hand mixer or a can opener and lo and behold i cant find anything but what come from china. and in two months it breaks and off to the dad gum landfill it goes. boils my blood. so i ask myself, do i absolutely must have/need this item on any and all purchases. we got to take care of each other and our stuff people.
ya i agree with you on that one, sew sew, it cost my son around three times as much to sew his curtains in his living room from scratch had he gone to a national discount store and bought something that was made in china…right now it is more of a hobby because those fabrics are out of sight. just think what they will be soon if oil keeps going up. so it would seem they have us over a barrel, but only to the extent our collective mindset is such. we can change our mindset and this time it looks as though it is being forced upon us. so be it. so go get the sewing machine back and start repairing and reusing old clothes. patronize thrift stores and buy stuff you can hem or stitch up or alter. learn how to sew even if it is just repair. the point is we are reusing reducing recycling and thus limiting our need for any goods that have to be shipped, esp from overseas. i ask myself all the time if i really do need this or that item.
Art, I agree with you on most everything except the part about sewing. I use to sew and last year decided I would like to pick it up again and make summer dresses. I bought the little $89.00 portable sewing machine and then went to the fabric store. When I saw the price of patterns & fabric I took the sewing machine back to the store. I can dress for less @ Ross’. Maybe I can learn to make my own patterns & use “scrap” material for my summer dresses.
Just sayin’
higher oil prices means higher everything because we dont do things locally anymore. it costs an arm and a leg to ship now! but just think! do they really have us over the proverbial barrel? we can do homespun. (homespun, google it.) just like our forefathers (alot of the success of the american revolution depended in a humongous part of the whole hearted support of the womenfolk.) so ladies get busy! plant a “victory” garden. grocery prices are increasing. buy from one another locally, eggs, milk , tomatoes, whatever, the list goes on and on. invest in a sewing machine and learn to use it. cotton is becoming harder and harder to grow, (it’s a thirsty little plant) and droughts have been plaguing a good part of the country. if nothing else learn how to recycle reuse repurpose. shop shop do shop at thrift and second hand shops, support your favorite charity and re-use those lovely things…believe me, the price of clothes is about to skyrocket. not to leave you out fellas either. my son sews and knows how to bake bread…he grumbles but he knows how…so sew and bake with your kids. smile. we can do this.
Name [required] amen and amen
hawghead, or should we say block head. I am not sure what horse you are talking to, but he has seriously miss-informed you and probably more of the long eared version. Again, oil companies do not directly control the price of oil. Two, do not believe everything that you read in some reporter’s blog. Third, You miss-understood the statement that was made, by then Energy Secretary Larry Goldstein; not an oil exec–it wasn’t if we close down 2 refineries for 3 weeks it would drive up the price of oil- the statement was concerning if they were forced to shut them down, the price of fuel would go up until they could re-open them; and it wasn’t Ivan it was Rita (2005) when LA refineries were closed due to Katrina and Rita was threatening the Texas refineries in Baytown, and lastly it IS shale in North Dakota- the Bakken Shale Oil Formation- “http://oilshalegas.com/bakkenshale.html”
and I did not say it was sandy- the reference was to the Canada oil sands – the oil is encapsulated in the shale much like the way the oil is encapsulated in the sand in Canada- we have the technology to extract it from the sand, but not the shale. I cannot not make it more elementary than this. I apologize if this is all over your head sir and you must rely on horses, donkeys or some other farm animal for your information.
Yes the oil companies control the price of gas. Just like they control the car companies to keep fuel efficient cars away as long as they can. You see the trend lately we have green cars now and actually the demand is going down for gas. And since they don’t sell as much they raise the price. The excuse has always been high demand, higher prices. You watch the price will continue to climb as less demand due to better fuel eff or alternative fuels arise. Oil companies LIE just like our government does.
Hey Local Yocal I don’t get my facts from CNN or any other news organization. I get them straight from the horses mouth. Not the other end as you must. I know you said that you work in the oil industry so therefore you are biased from the start. If you don’t think that oil companies have any control over supply, then you need to back away from the fumes and take in some fresh air. A report that was posted on the internet from an oil executive to his board right after Hurricane Ivan. It stated that if we close down 2 refinery’s for 3 weeks we can drive up the price of a barrel. Now if you don’t believe it then go research it for yourself………It’s all a big shell game and we are the poor fools who are forced to play it………And for your info the oil in N.and S. Dakota is not in shale and is not as sandy as the oil we get from our neighbors in the north. THE PLAIN SIMPLE FACT IS THAT OIL PRICES ARE THE REASON WE AS A NATION ARE IN A RECESSION…….
But David,
It is much easier to blame the evil oil companies then to examine one’s position.
Search the internet for “Strategic Petroleum Reserve” It is around 30 days of supply… and then it would be completely used up… what then?
Earlier posters are correct, the government can only make the problem worse… we need to stop relying on the government, AND stop blaming industry for the problem.
It is simply supply and demand… we use 25% of the worlds oil and produce less then 3%… we can not make enough oil to continue to use it like we do.
If you drive a gas hog, you have no right to complain about the high prices…. we are all accountable for the choices we make.
REGARDING:
“add in a little unrest in the Middle East”
A little???????
“the leaders of our country need to get of their duffs and do something about it.”
Politicians can’t produce petroleum, just hinder its production.
“ The problem is not oil companies cutting back supply of refined fuels-it’s refining capacity “
If refining were the problem, it wouldn’t jump up suddenly. In fact the USA has some of the best refining capability in the world.
“You can not tell me that in one week, that so many things have changed to have gasoline rise like that. and for it to continue to rise is just having the speculators scare us to death and raise the price another 20.”
Speculators are scared. The bad thing is, they KNOW what’s going on and are scared. We don’t pay attention and figure they must just be gouging us.
“a news show a couple of years ago that said that if we released just 10% of the oil we have in reserve, it would be enough to power every vehicle in the US, 24/7 for the next 20 years.”
News shows are often inaccurate.
We do other things with petroleum than run cars.
Oil isn’t just bottled up ready to flow in an instant.
Uncertainty causes fear.
We are CERTAIN we depend on fossil fuels for what we need to live.
We are UNCERTAIN how much will be available in the future.
If political unrest ends production in North Africa and the Middle East, we would soon be hurting.
If things calm down, production and reduced demand will force price cuts in time.
Now if I could just wait until that time happens to refill….
David for energy certainty
lest we depend
on the undependable
This is just the sign of the times. High fuel prices affect everything thing that is transported to our stores that we consume as we as the manufacturing cost of products we use, who really pays for this? THE CONSUMER as the oil giants rack up record profits. THE RICHER GETTING RICHER and the poor barely holding on. The great nation we live in is crumbling before our eyes and people is blind to this. Every empire soon falls. Our leaders and citizens have become so immoral and the only hope for us as a nation is to return back to what we were founded on.One nation under GOD. For those who understand an explanation is not needed and for those who don”t understand an explantion will not suffice.
Hey listen we have been taking it in the wallet for a lot of years. They have now processed us to accept higher prices. It is the futures traders and the shorting of the supply that is running up the price. Then add in a little unrest in the Middle East and you got exactly the combination that all the investors want a “higher price”. the leaders of our country need to get of their duffs and do something about it. But I suppose when you live in a bubble like they do you don’t have to worry about the price because someone else is paying for for them like us the taxpayers. Just saying.
if it is refining capacity that the bad ole govt has prevented the oil companies from building that ‘inflates” the price of oil, why in the world are there so many empty refineries all over the united states. they just sit there, huge acres of them, standing empty and idle. and the oil companies just abandon them for the most part. dont tear them down, dont clean them up. jsut shut and board them up…it is disgusting.
Sorry hawghead,
You are incorrect sir. The problem is not oil companies cutting back supply of refined fuels- its refining capacity as rb states that government regulations have kept the US from building refineries for over 30 years.
As for the oil in North and South Dakota- it not as simple as drilling and pumping. The oil is contained in “Oil Shale”, much like the Oil Sands in Canada that Shell currently produces. Unfortunately technology has not caught up to make it a viable resource to extract at this time. Keep watching CNN and getting half the story and you will continue to be miss-informed.
Think BP is paying for all the damage they caused? No. Think the tobacco compies are paying for all the lawsuits and fines? No. The extra expenses are all passed down to the consumer.$5.oo for a pack of cig and over $3.00 for a gallon of gas and climbing. The only one that is feeling ant extra expense is the consumer.
reduce, reuse, recycle and i thought of another re word. re-flect. i like it cuz i get to ask myself “self, are you greedy? do you share in this madness by being wasteful or not conservative with the stuff in my life? am i reckless or lazy when it comes to protecting resources?” (oh, and excuse the “cuz”. please. it is just a colloquialism/kind of a vernacular thingy. don’t mean to offend the linguistics purists out there.)
I still don’t get it…..Starting last week, Mon…gas $3.09; Tues….gas $3.14: Wed…gas $3.15; Thurs….gas $3.20; Fri…gas $3.25; Sat….gas $3.33.
I understand the price per barrel going up, I understand the unrest in the Middle East, etc…but I also read the paper and watch the news. The biggest part of the news I watch is oil and it said that oil prices stabilized this week.
WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND IS HOW GAS CAN JUMP THAT HIGH ALL IN ONE WEEK. THIS IS CRAZY AND REDHANDED STEALING FROM THE PUBLIC.
You can not tell me that in one week, that so many things have changed to have gasoline rise like that. and for it to continue to rise is just having the speculators scare us to death and raise the price another 20.
Now is when the government needs to step in and stop the speculators, as they did after Katrina, and hold off raising prices of gasoline. Gosh know, what happens if one of the speculators cuts his finger and yells raise the price another .30 cents cause it hurts.
I remember seeing something on a news show a couple of years ago that said that if we released just 10% of the oil we have in reserve, it would be enough to power every vehicle in the US, 24/7 for the next 20 years. Wow! That’s a hell of a lot of oil. Why CAN’T we release some of that for our own usage? Why does it have to be a world thing as CW said?
Refining capacity is part of the problem. There hasn’t been a new refinery built in the U.S. since the 70’s. A few plant expansions here and there, but nobody wants a refinery in their backyard. Plus add in the 20 or so fuel blends the refiners are required to make for different states, and you see the other issues that drive up the costs.
Our fuel is still dirt cheap compared to what many other countries have to pay.
I’m all for more drilling as it creates more jobs along the gulf coast, many of my family members work out there, but it won’t really lower fuel prices. Oil is a world commodity, we don’t to get to keep it all for ourself. America has always been the only country that could afford to use lots of oil, but other countries are getting richer and we now have to compete with them for it.
If anyone does not believe that oil companies have anything to do with the price of oil, then you’ve been kept in a closet for years. Yes the world markets do affect the price based on supply and demand. That is true. But the oil companies control the supply side of this equation. If they want the price to go up they simply slow down the refining process so the demand is higher than the supply. That in turn drives the price of a barrel of oil up. Don’t be fooled by those who would have you believe that the oil companies are just pawns in the game. They are just as guilty as the greedy nations that control most of the oil in the world. We have enough untapped oil fields in North and South Dakota that would produce enough oil to drive the price of a barrel down to $35.00/barrel. Oh yeah our government is just as guilty for not allowing those oil fields to be drillled and pumped……..Oil will be the reason for then next world war….and this one will be the “war to end all wars.’
middle east upheaval is the best thing since sliced bread for both oil companies and speculators alike. greedy, greedy. greedy opportunists. shame on them.
Big Banks and Wall St speculators buying what is called futures. Local is right on. Oil is a commodity, just like coffee, soy beans and pork bellys. Speculators gamble, but it can pay big dividends.
Local Yocal is correct in his explanation.And no name- Im not giving up my Cadi so the president can fly his wife around the for a date night. That sure as heck wasn’t green!
Yeah, I’m with Ronald, this is a just oil companies using the unrest as an excuse to manipulate prices upward.
Ronald has a typical “head in the sand ” response. Its the cliched response of the ignorant liberal democrat. Had he bothered to get an education he would have learned in econ 101 about supply and demand. here’s the new version based on the shortsightedness of our current president…We don’t use our own domestic supply, we pay what others demand!!
Yes, oil companies are putting it to us and MAKING us drive vehicles that get less then 20mpg…. right?
Look, we are addicted to a substance we don’t have. We use 25% of the world’s oil supply but only produce 3%…. we can not increase production enough to meet the need… we simply don’t have the oil.
We can cut demand… drive down hwy 29 and count the vehicles that get 30+ MPG.
If you are not driving one, you do not have the high ground to complain from.
(I am not talking about loaded pickups. Most run around empty… mine stays in the yard unless I am hauling something).
NO NO NO, Blame Grorge Bush remember? We voted for change, so as for as I’m concerened, We’re getting just what we asked for. When the President and Congress (or EPA) won’t let our own (oil companys) or anyone drill, on land or water, for fear of a spill, stop complaining and get ready for 10 dollar a gallon gas. Don’t call your congressman and complain, and create controversary, for they will simply leave the State. (esp. Dem.)
Ronald,
Do a little research and you find out that the oil companies have zero to do with setting the price of oil. Oil is a commodity and the price is set by speculators. Everyone blames the oil companies when they are playing by the rules that were set forth by world markets.
I could spend the day explaining the intricacies of the world oil market, but I will defer to Mr. David Green to explain this to you Ronald. I have to get back to work with one of these Big Bad Oil companies that you feel is exploiting you so Uncle Sam can use his tax authority to exploit me!!
Couldn’t agree with Ronald more. The American people have been getting ripped off. I have felt for a long time that this county could climb out of the recession if gas prices would come down. NONE OF US see our wages climbing to match the increasing cost!
I am sick and tired of being exploited by oil companies that use any violence or unrest overseas as a reason to stick it to Americans with WAY overpriced oil and gasoline prices. This is to the oil companies: we are not fools, we know what you are doing. Quit RIPPING us off on EVERY unrest news story that hits the internet! QUIT BLEEDING US DRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!