Another Round of Ugliness This Week

Monday, March 7, 8:00AM:  Although retail prices rose to $3.55 last Wednesday (as I suggested a week ago), wholesale prices continued their relentless climb, fueled by the spike in oil prices, the weaker dollar, and the switchover to “summer gasoline” that is in progress.  According to AXXIS, the wholesale price for a gallon of gas was $2.88 on Friday, while according to NYMEX, it is more like $3.05.  The truth is probably somewhere in-between, and it leads to a 0-cent margin price (my estimate of the cost to the gas station owners) of somewhere around $3.50.  So, I believe there is one more price hike coming, to the neighborhood of $3.69.  Then, I think (hope?) that will be it for a while.