Lower gas prices

[Quick_Nick]

It seems some areas are suddenly seeing LOWER gas prices for the first time in a very long time. A few weeks ago, it was probably around $3.80/gal. Now the price in this area is down to $2.70 and dropping. I'm not one to follow the news and politics, so can anyone please explain to me why the prices are going down?

 

[Eagle]

3 reasons.

Some of the artificial inflation has gone down and OPEC is pumping a more oil than they said they would

Demand has gone down, or not increased very much lately.

With the poor economic forecasts, demand is not expected to increase very much in the short & mid term.

 

[caningo]

My opinion

My guess is the fact that global demand for oil is slowing down. Will all the economic uncertainty, people are really reluctant to let get of the dough and aren't going out hardly at all.

I have to admit, I've been doing the same. Only use my car to go to school and go get groceries and what not. And on top of that I've probably only done like 2 or 3 trips this year and they haven't been very far either (Chicago & Louisville).

My guess is that the speculators will try to keep bringing down the price of oil and gas until people start getting confident again, and once that happens they will bring up the price again and try to screw people over once more.

Its a sick cycle I know. Hopefully we'll find a solution pretty soon or otherwise this nation will be so in debt that I doubt it will remain a superpower for long.

Cheers

 

[Linguofreak]

Also, we're done with summer, so we're past the vacation season and all the driving.

 

[Hielor]

Don't gas prices typically spike in the summer and then go down in the fall?

 

[Eagle]

Its a sick cycle I know. Hopefully we'll find a solution pretty soon or otherwise this nation will be so in debt that I doubt it will remain a superpower for long.

Some variant of plug-in hybrids is likely the best near-term solution. Get the economy of electric, but you can still fill it up in the gas station if you need to.

Personally, I've also cut down my driving and try to carpool as much as I can. A significant number of people have done this nationwide and it does add up. Its good old supply and demand. Hopefully the market alternatives will stay competitive and hybrids and electric vehicles are here to stay.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Don't gas prices typically spike in the summer and then go down in the fall?

Yes, to some degree. This spike also usually happens any weekend. But, I don't think the drop is usually this significant.

Unrelated to Hielor's post, but related to other posts:
Demand can't really go up for gasoline (ignoring oil in general) unless more cars are bought, or more people use fuel inefficient cars, and that probably isn't going to happen. So lowering the prices surely won't lure that many people into buying more gas. (I doubt many people would find extra use for their vehicles JUST because prices are lower)

 

[Eagle]

Yes, to some degree. This spike also usually happens any weekend. But, I don't think the drop is usually this significant.

Unrelated to Hielor's post, but related to other posts:
Demand can't really go up for gasoline (ignoring oil in general) unless more cars are bought, or more people use fuel inefficient cars, and that probably isn't going to happen. So lowering the prices surely won't lure that many people into buying more gas.

The given reason why prices go up in the fall (and spring) is that refineries switch between producing 2 different blends of gasoline. I think the winter blend has shorter polymer chains so it is less likely to freeze in the cold and can have a higher vapor pressure because the temperature is lower. And the summer blend would have longer chains to keep the vapor pressure lower. I think, I could be completely backwards.

Demand can go up even if the number of cars is stable. If airlines cut ticket prices because fuel will cost them less, more people will fly. Same thing with driving, if gas prices drop enough to make the hiking trip (and long drive there and back) attractive enough, you'll spend half a tank of gas on one weekend when you wouldn't if the price was higher. (and remember there are at least 10,000 people exactly like you)

 

[joeybigO]

I've been thinking about the switch to E80 ethanol. However O really don't know where to get it here, or how much more cost effective the switch would be.

 

[Kaito]

Where I Live, it dropped 40 cents in two days. My dad's kinda mad cuz he filled up his truck two days ago, when it was still at 3.28.

The Citgo near us ran out of Regular, so they were selling Super Premium for the same price as Regular....w00t.

 

[Robert van der Veeke]

Well, a 2 eurocents difference is saving me a full Euro at the pump, it sounds not much, but i have to fill that car a lot, on average i spend now about 35-40 euro's less a month on fuel than i did in june and july.

Still a cheaper price at the pump does not mean that i will drive more because my daily drive to work will make up ±95% of my fuelcosts. It does mean however that i have more to spend on other things, wich is good for the economy afterall.

 

[tblaxland]

I've been thinking about the switch to E80 ethanol. However O really don't know where to get it here, or how much more cost effective the switch would be.

I haven't seen E80 here. What sort of RON do you get with it? My car needs RON95 which I can get with E10 fuel. More and more stations are stocking E10 now, but not my local. I reckon it saves about 5 cents per litre but I'm not convinced that increasing the demand for ethanol is a good thing for either the environment or world food prices. At the moment, my conscience is winning the battle with my wallet

 

[joeybigO]

I haven't seen E80 here. What sort of RON do you get with it? My car needs RON95 which I can get with E10 fuel. More and more stations are stocking E10 now, but not my local. I reckon it saves about 5 cents per litre but I'm not convinced that increasing the demand for ethanol is a good thing for either the environment or world food prices. At the moment, my conscience is winning the battle with my wallet

Well according to the sources, you don't get really good gas milage, but what you do get is lower costs, here E85 (not my retarded E80) is only 1.97 per gallon, where they say it cuts out 85% of OPEC right away.

The kit to convert cars is available for some cars, but I sadly learned that it was not available for my car, since it is foreign made (off topic: WTF with my spelling today???) however studies show that it does reduce gas milage by 1 or so MPG. My car currently is getting about 28 MPG. With (supposedly) a E85 conversion, I would pay almost 700 US.
You would not even see a profit until 350 gallons, which in my car is about 6 months.

Long story short, not worth it hypothetically. If a conversion comes out, I might consider getting one for it.

 

[tl8]

Most new cars will run on almost 100% Ethanol, the main problem is with seals in the fuel line. (I think rubber ones degrade)