[ghporter]

My local gas-up spot was down to $3.39 yesterday, and GasBuddy says the lowest local price is now $3.29 (at another, closer and less sketchy non-brand convenience store).

[MacNNFamous]

[reader50]

Only small changes since last fillup. No sign of E85 so far.

$5.45⁹ at the off-brand station.
$5.74⁹ at ARCO.
$5.99⁹ at the Stickup.

[Spheric Harlot]

$8.10/gallon at the cheapest gas station near here.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

My vehicle manual specifically states not to use higher than 10% ethanol fuel. Between fuel system part sensitivity to alcohols and the way the engine management system is configured, that makes sense. And I think it’s pretty odd (and amusing) that grain alcohol can hurt polymer components that laugh off gasoline…

I believe the issue is that gasoline (and especially diesel) is a lubricant, which alcohol is not.

[andi*pandi]

+-25¢ mostly around $4 here.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

I believe the issue is that gasoline (and especially diesel) is a lubricant, which alcohol is not.

Good point. And the alcohol content can reduce the lubricity of the gasoline, so too much alcohol means not enough lubrication.

The fuel is not only lubricant for fuel pumps, it also cools the pump in a lot of applications. Alcohol should not impair that, but it probably doesn’t help it much either.

[subego]

Finally had to drive out to the burbs. $4.59⁹ at the Speedway. $4.89⁹ at the Mobil next to the Costco in the city.

[ghporter]

For some reason, local prices have bounced from $3.61 or so to over $4 in the past week. Could it be that not operating all those idle wells I saw a few months ago has reduced supply? On purpose? Nah, who could be so callous as to hurt people just to make their profits even more obscene?

[MacNNFamous]

I don't get why it's going up now... it's more than it was 3-4 weeks ago and I am not understanding the reason.

[subego]

There’s typically a spike going into summer. Maybe it’s stacking with what we already have?

[reader50]

Apparently it's from Putin and the EU feuding over energy.

JPMorgan notes that East Coast gasoline inventories are at their lowest level since 2011. The central driver behind the drawdown of inventories is higher-than-normal exports of gasoline, analysts at the bank said.

As high as prices are in the United States, they're much higher in Europe, which is dealing with the loss of supply from Russia. That's a major factor driving up exports from US and Canadian refineries that would normally supply Eastern US gas stations.

So with gas prices in Europe is so high, we're actually exporting gasoline, not just oil.

Europe should have their own refineries. Unless many of them are in Ukraine or Russia.

[Thorzdad]

There was a piece on NPR a couple of days ago, with an interview with a finance guy who watches the energy sector. According to him, the real problem with gas prices is not the price of oil (which has largely recovered from the jump in price following Russia’s invasion) It’s the lack of refineries. Oil companies sidelined/closed-down refineries during COVID and have not yet brought them back online. A few may not ever be restarted for reasons. There are issues with getting oil to where it’s needed, but they can’t refine it in a timely manner, causing gas prices to escalate.

[MacNNFamous]

"Can't" = "Let's not so we can gouge consumers and rake in record profits"

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by MacNNFamous 

"Can't" = "Let's not so we can gouge consumers and rake in record profits"

Quoted for emphasis, and truth.

It’s not the labor market - there are tons of people underemployed in the Houston area after COVID caused “short term” shut downs. They COULD restart a lot of refineries in a short period of time (it’s not like flipping a switch, but it’s also not like recommissioning a battleship). But that would eat into profits, wouldn’t it…

[subego]

On the road again.

$5.71⁹ at a random Shell in the city. $5.54⁹ at my regular suburban Speedway. JFC.

[reader50]

You should step up to CA gas. We have the higher-quality stuff. Prices from a couple days ago - I forgot to post them.

$6.49⁹ at the Stickup.
$5.99⁹ at ARCO.
$5.75⁹ at a local off-brand.

[subego]

I went past the Mobil next to the Costco on the way back, which was $5.75⁹, so that’s exactly like off-brand California.

[Laminar]

I tried waiting until after the annual "Memorial Day Price Gouging to Honor the Troops" to fill up the 36 gallon tank, ended up doing $4.06 at Costco, and now it's up to $4.60 everywhere.

[Thorzdad]

$4.60? Jumped past $5.00 for the first time here in Indy over the weekend. Saw one place at $5.15. Saw a couple other places holding the line at $4.99.

[Laminar]

Quite a few stations around here started selling 88 Octane E15 for a few cents less than the standard E10. So "regular" E10 87 Octane is hovering around $5 but the corn juice is $4.50-4.80. Speaking of corn juice, E85 is still around $2.99 at some stations. Usually it's a false economy due to reduced gas mileage but at its current 38% price discount, the 20-30% reduction in gas mileage actually works in my favor. The truck is flex fuel so I may just go that direction for my next fillup.

[subego]

The local price for an MRI is apparently $10,000.

[reader50]

Almost certainly stolen. The usual range is $150K (used) up to $1.2M for a fancy new one. Call the cops - there may be a reward.

[subego]

Will the reward be more than the 15-120x markup?

[subego]

Well, the good news is my tummy noodles have been certified tumor-free.

[ghporter]

After your adventure in the torpedo tube of claustrophobia, I’m sure the positive news was all you needed to feel better. Yes, heavy sarcasm here.

[subego]

Thankfully, I’m not claustrophobic, so the worst part was no fluids beforehand, and the prospective horror of what form of dye they were going to feed me. The last one was this nightmare syrup stuff. This time was just barium, which wasn’t great, but wasn’t awful, and I was pretty parched by that point.

[andi*pandi]

glad the scan was clear!

[subego]

Thank you! I am too! Extra glad my dad can stop worrying.

The short form is I had food poisoning so bad the doctors thought it was cancer.


Edit: I forget by how much, but I drove past a BP camped next to interstate ramps today and it was well over $6.

[ghporter]

Around here, the price ranges from about $4.39 to $4.89, depending on brand, locale, etc. But it yo-yos on a daily basis. Sometimes I’ll go by one station that has regular for $4.19, and the next day it’s $4.59. Not entirely consistent for each station, but there’s a noticeable amount of “volatility” here.

[subego]

There’s volatility here, but a 40¢ swing in a few days is definitely unusual.

[andi*pandi]

MA is around $5.

[Laminar]

The place with $2.99 E85 just went up to $3.29, regular is $4.80+ everywhere. I have to replace the fuel tank pressure sensor on my truck so I'm trying to run the tank all of the way down, hopefully it doesn't climb too much more before I'm ready.

[MacNNFamous]

$5/gallon in most of the middle of the country, just drove from Colorado to Nebraska, Iowa, and WI. Expensive trip in a van that gets shit MPG.

[Brien]

Pushing $7 here for premium. Wheeeeeeee

[ghporter]

It’s settled down around here to between $4.50 and $4.80, depending on where you go. The last few days it’s drifted downward at the closest places to me, at $4.51 or so.

I’m so glad we decided we only needed one car a couple of years ago. The “other” car, which we sold, needed PREMIUM gas. Ouch!

[subego]

My van has turned out to be my favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned, and one of those reasons is it runs on regular.

[MacNNFamous]

lol one car. I have 7. Wait. 8.

[subego]

Yeah… too much population density where I live. That would be thousands and thousands a month in garage space.

I generally take public transportation or walk. The van’s for work. It’s 7 years old and I haven’t broken 20K miles yet.

[Face Ache]

98 is AU$2.21 a litre around here in Oz today.

(You do the maths. )

[Thorzdad]

Saw regular down below $5 at a few stations over the weekend. And that wasn’t “member” price.

[Waragainstsleep]

Petrol and Diesel here are over US$9 a gallon.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Face Ache 

98 is AU$2.21 a litre around here in Oz today.

(You do the maths. )

I’m getting US$5.85 a gallon, which seems not bad. Am I doing the math wrong?

2.21 x 0.7 x 3.75

[reader50]

Looks right to me. Current CA prices, converted:

$6.59⁹ at the Stickup. (AUS $2.50 per L)
$6.19⁹ at ARCO. (AUS $2.35 per L)
$5.99⁹ at a local off-brand. (AUS $2.27 per L)

[OAW]

Just had to drop $5.29 a gallon for premium at QuikTrip in STL. A couple of weeks ago it was $4.99.

OAW

[Face Ache]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’m getting US$5.85 a gallon, which seems not bad. Am I doing the math wrong?

2.21 x 0.7 x 3.75

I'm not complaining. Well... our government dropped the fuel tax rate to keep pump prices down, but the difference was immediately swallowed up by the fuel companies. That's a bit annoying.

I drive a Mini and don't put a lot of K's on it, so petrol can double in price again before I'm worried. No matter what the current excuses for the price hikes are, the price of fuel was always going to go through the roof when we started switching to electric.

The squeeze is on.

[subego]

Was out last night. $5.79⁹ at a Circle K in the city, $5.99⁹ at a BP.

[ghporter]

Ouch! Locally it’s been trending down a penny or two at a time. One local refining company is not likely to cash in on suspended fuel taxes, and my preferred source, a grocery chain, isn’t likely to do so either.

We don’t drive a whole lot, but my wife works at a store that’s about 9 miles away and accessible via some typically clogged routes. Our usual route is longer, but usually smoother - except at school bus times. Either way, it’s better than sitting among the throngs that only know one way to get anywhere. So we fill up infrequently, but we fill up because we’re conditioned to keep the vehicle on the top half of the tank “just in case.” I don’t think we’re likely to have a hurricane here in San Antonio any time soon, but ya never know!

[subego]

$5.64⁹ at a Speedway in the burbs.


Edit: not my normal Speedway, and not my normal burb.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Europe should have their own refineries. Unless many of them are in Ukraine or Russia.

We do. Every vacation season, the United States radically drives up petrol prices here in Europe, as Rotterdam ships refined petrol to the U.S.

Refineries don't work without oil, BTW.