Comment on the May 18 prediction: Prices continued falling for a week, into the $3.70s, so that prediction was CORRECT.
Thursday, May 26, 2011, 1:00PM: Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything to say before the hike to $3.99 yesterday. There is something going on with floods and refineries and the stock market that is causing wholesale prices to bounce around, but I had no clear prediction to make. So, for Memorial Day weekend, we are just about at $4 a gallon. Here is your reading for the weekend: musings about $4 gas from Greg Beato. An excerpt:
“Indeed, while the gas that cost 36 cents per gallon in 1970 would only cost $2 per gallon today, the average fuel economy for cars in that era was approximately 13.5 miles per gallon. In contrast, a 2011 Ford Fiesta gets 28 miles per gallon in the city and 37 miles per gallon on the highway — so until gas prices top $4 per gallon, Fiesta drivers are actually paying less per mile for gas than the drivers of the 1970s did. And they’re not paying a premium to achieve such efficiencies — the Fiesta starts at $13,320 (that’s just $2312.72 in 1970 dollars).”
Patrick reports that a Marathon refinery in Robinson, Illinois lost power last night as a result of severe weather. I imagine this is why we had a 4.07¢ increase in the Chicago spot price today.
In Kalamazoo, retail prices are down to $3.909 near the airport and down to $3.899 in Paw Paw and Lawton. The Kalamazoo metro average is $3.976. A Marathon in Richland was $4.039 as of 11:56 this morning, the only station in the area to go above Speedway’s $3.999 high water mark.
Normalcy has returned in Grand Rapids, with 13 stations below the lowest price available in Kalamazoo, the lowest being $3.829 at a Sam’s Club in Comstock Park. The Grand Rapids metro average is $3.981. No stations are reported above $3.999.
Here’s where the averages currently rank:
$4.000 Ann Arbor
$3.981 Grand Rapids
$3.976 Kalamazoo
$3.969 Michigan
$3.964 Flint
$3.956 Gary
$3.950 Detroit
$3.948 Fort Wayne
$3.947 South Bend
$3.928 Indiana
$3.917 Lansing
$3.804 USA
I would plan on a reset on Tuesday, May 31, but not necessarily back to $3.999. By that time, prices will have fallen for 6 days.
If anyone in New Jersey or Louisiana reads this (unlikely), get a $20 Exxon-Mobil gift card simply by signing up for an Exxon-Mobil Speedpass: http://www.speedpass.com/
The deal apparently is law in those states prevents Exxon-Mobil’s regular Speedpass promotion, so this is their alternative offer. If you know people in those states, pass on the information.
Markets often don’t move much on Friday, especially going into a major holiday weekend, but they did today and not for the good.
June futures settled up today at $3.0920 and $3.0313 for July.
I imagine the exchange rate between the Euro and U.S. Dollar can be blamed for this. Normally, I’ve not seen currencies moving above 1% in a day. The Euro closed today 1.0783% stronger against the Dollar, where 1€ buys $1.4298. The Dollar was 1.9412% weaker against the Swiss Franc. The Dollar was also weaker against all 4 other major currencies.
Commodities were mixed.
Current retail averages:
$3.964 Ann Arbor
$3.963 Grand Rapids
$3.956 Kalamazoo
$3.954 MI
$3.946 South Bend
$3.939 Gary
$3.936 Fort Wayne
$3.935 Detroit
$3.920 Flint
$3.906 IN
$3.863 Lansing
$3.795 USA
Lansing, East Lansing, Holt, and Mason currently claim 13 out of the top 15 lowest reported prices in Michigan, with $3.699 at a Sam’s Club in Lansing.
Holiday weekend over – – prices falling!!
Okay, can one of you guys who is “in the know” explain to me why Rockford’s gas prices are almost 20 cents higher than Cedar Springs [at the expressway].