Thursday, March 1, 2007, 3:30 PM: Well, maybe that’s the last time I allow myself to be distracted for three weeks by my job. On February 6, we were at $2.16 a gallon. Today, it is $2.59. What is going on? To be sure, NYMEX and wholesale prices have been climbing. On January 22, NYMEX was at $1.40. Today, it is $1.90! So, the retailers have been passing these price hikes along. This isn’t new for this time of year, either. The February-March period has been bad for gas prices the past few years. One sign of this is that in both 2005 and 2006, I was contacted by the media in late March.
I’m not too optimistic looking ahead the next few days. As of the moment, the 0-cent margin price is $2.43 and the 20-cent margin price is now up to $2.64. So, there’s a small chance of a price hike tomorrow to $2.64, and a larger chance Monday or Tuesday, depending on how prices trade tomorrow. This is not so much a prediction as a caution, and it basically echoes Patrick’s post.