Tuesday, November 4, 2003

Regular readers of my postings know that I have been struggling with whether or not to continue to factor in the difference between Chicago and New York wholesale prices that occur every summer. (I can get NY wholesale prices over the Internet, but not Chicago’s.) Last week’s price hike indicates that the price difference continues. Or it could be some Halloween game played by the retailers. Looking at my records, in 2002 we had a price hike at Halloween, and then no price hikes in November, as it appeared the Chicago Summer Premium finally went away at the end of the first week of November. Let’s assume something similar will occur with the CSP, and given the fact that wholesale prices have been creeping lower, I predict no price hike this week, and maybe prices in the $1.30’s by next week. Both predictions were CORRECT, as prices dropped significantly last week and at the beginning of this week.