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You know, I didn't realize just how much I resented getting gouged at the gas pumps until prices started dropping. Here we are at less than $2.00/gallon and it just pisses me off. It's not like there was some major discovery in oil reserves or any other concrete reason why prices dropped. All of a sudden we have plenty of refining capacity... but we didn't build any new refineries... Fact is, someone just decided they were not going to charge as much.... cause they want to be nice to us during the hard economic times... Great! Now how about being nice all the time and not gouging our asses next summer... Obviously if they can sell it for less than $2.00/gallon now... they can sell it for $2.00/gallon next summer too... I hate OPEC. Bunch of Commie Monopolizing bastids, sucking us for all we're worth...

Hey Ves, don't hold back, tell us what you really think.

1.67 right now.

The issue is not OPEC, they have not really changed production much in 2 years.

But we will keep this thread out of the Playhouse

sjbmw wrote:1.67 right now.

The issue is not OPEC, they have not really changed production much in 2 years.

But we will keep this thread out of the Playhouse

Well, that's even worse... cause you could almost live with the fact that a bunch of sheiks thousands of miles away are gouging us... but we're getting the shaft from our own?

owldaddy wrote:Hey Ves, don't hold back, tell us what you really think.

It's winter... my tolerance is low...

Well, that's even worse... cause you could almost live with the fact that a bunch of sheiks thousands of miles away are gouging us... but we're getting the shaft from our own?

I hate high gas prices as much as anyone does, I do have to disagree with this statement though. The oil companies buy their oil on the commodities market (70% of it anyway). The price of oil to be refined has dropped about $100/barrel in just a few weeks, so they charge less for their product. Your right that OPEC is still making a profit at the new price, and they were making a huge profit at the price they got a couple months ago. Why are they charging less now.... because we are not buying as much of their product, the world economy has shrunk, the oil market has followed as well. Market forces at work, China and India won't be bidding the price up (which they did when their production was in full swing) if they can't sell the products they make for the rest of the world. Ironically OPEC and the aforementioned countries helped create the slow down in their own production by helping to cause the world economy to shrink. Who is really going to get hurt here is our government, they stand to lose a ton of cash in gas taxes due to the lower demand. I wouldn't be selling any oil company stocks just yet though, they will still be making money for their shareholders.
Don

Sad that diesel has not dropped much yet. Here in Va it's still twice the price of regular.

towerworker wrote:Sad that diesel has not dropped much yet. Here in Va it's still twice the price of regular.

Yeah, what is the story with that. For the longest time Diesel use to be less expensive than gasoline... then all of a sudden it's always higher... is that just the government taxing business?

One gallon of diesel is used to produce one gallon of ethanol.

Ethanol production levels are mandated by the US government.

I think sjbmw is right about diesel. The demand didn't drop as much as with gasoline. I always thought that the reason it jumped above gas in price was due to all the new diesel powered cars and light trucks hitting the road, driving the demand up. Gasoline isn't the only fuel with a large demand any more. I was amazed yesterday to see gas at $1.90/gallon, California seems to have the highest prices in the country usually. Ves is right, we have a right to be pissed.
Don

sjbmw wrote:One gallon of diesel is used to produce one gallon of ethanol.

Ethanol production levels are mandated by the US government.

Nice... very nice... I should have assumed some kind of stupidity like that...

Not sure this will be any comfort, but I've just calculated what we're paying here in the UK.

At roughly £0.9 per litre, (unleaded) and $1.51819 to the pound (xe.com), we're paying the equivalent of $5.17 per US gallon. And that's the cheapest it's been for ages.

Is there anywhere more expensive? If so - they have my sincere commiserations.

Cheers

Trapper wrote:Not sure this will be any comfort, but I've just calculated what we're paying here in the UK.

At roughly £0.9 per litre, (unleaded) and $1.51819 to the pound (xe.com), we're paying the equivalent of $5.17 per US gallon. And that's the cheapest it's been for ages.

Is there anywhere more expensive? If so - they have my sincere commiserations.

Cheers

Now why do you suppose Europe pays so much more for gas? After all, you're closer to the Middle East? Shouldn't it be less there?

In the US, we don't get all that much oil from the mid-east. We buy most our oil from Mexico, Canada, Venezuela plus what we produce domestically.

I read the UK has about 6 days worth of oil on the island(s), which means they spend a lot on their Navy to keep the tankers safe. They also don't have a very extensive refining and distrubution system for consumer use.

John Rockafeller...if you can hear me...thank you.

There's really only one reason for our high prices, (and sorry, it's not the place of origin, the navy or our refineries). It's tax.

In 2007, fuel duty accounted for 70% of the price of our unleaded petrol at the pumps. I'm sure the oil companies do very nicely out of it as well, but the chancellor collects many billions of pounds every year by fleecing the uk motorist.

There is a real danger that this could turn into a rant - so I'm just going to go and play with my bike for a while to calm me down.

I'm feeling better already

Cheers

Hm. Take all the tax off, and that's still three dollars and four cents per US gallon. Seems like we're paying under two here these days, and that includes tax.

NoRRmad wrote:Hm. Take all the tax off, and that's still three dollars and four cents per US gallon. Seems like we're paying under two here these days, and that includes tax.

I make it only $1.55 (30% of $5.17?)

Take $3.04
The tax is 70% of that: $2.13
Add the two together: $5.17

X + .7X=5.17
X(1+.7)=5.17
1.7X=5.17
X=5.17/1.7
X=3.04(11764705882352941176470588235)

(Geez, the first time I've had to do high-school algebra in years!)

Later: AND IT'S WRONG!

You say tax accounts for 70% of the price, not that the tax rate is 70%, so:

of $5.17, the tax is 70% of that or $3.62. Subtract one from the other, $1.55

Apparently, the tax rate on your gas is over 233%!

The Chancellor makes billions and the Navy works for free? That's odd.

okay, just food for thought..

you guys are annoyed about paying $2.00 for a gallon..

in Britain, at the height of the economic boom, you could have expected to pay $8.66 for that same gallon

you guys are definately getting your fuel prices easier!

btw, the gallon im quoting is a U.S. gallon, around 3.8 litres.

the height of our economic boom over here saw unleaded to be £1.22 per litre (which at the time (exchange rate) was $2.32 in U.S. money)

so basically, we were paying as much for a litre, as you would for almost four times that amount


i understand where you're coming from, by being annoyed that they can suddenly drop the prices, but imagine if they hadn't how annoyed you'd be then..

i say be thankful!

our fuel prices are just coming down to realistic amounts again, and we're now seeing 88.9p per litre.. so still alot more expensive than you guys's, but alot better than the £1.22 we were paying last year!!

Take it easy

Tommy

$1.42 in TN on sunday- I paid 1.57 and my brother in law had to rub it in ! I-75 north of Knoxville ...