Prices falling? Surprised? Yes.

I am really surprised with how wholesale gasoline prices have fallen this month. In the past two weeks, wholesale prices have fallen 37 cents, and we see the results at the pump — we are down to $2.06 this morning in Wyoming. It is these volatile times in the wholesale market that makes it really hard to predict the retail market. This is what I see this morning: March futures wholesale prices $1.43, April futures wholesale prices $1.58. That averages to $1.51, which is my estimate for the wholesale price. Throw in taxes, etc., and the 0-cent margin price is $2.01. Use just the March futures, and the 0-cent margin price is $1.93. So, retail prices have room to drop more, and I’m not ready to predict anything yet for the rest of the week. Later that day, there was a half-hearted price hike to $2.25. It wasn’t matched everywhere.