Wednesday, December 18, 2013, 7:45PM: And just like that, it is time for a price hike. Retail prices have dropped below $3 a gallon in a number of places, while wholesale prices have been rising slowly but surely. Look for a price reset on Thursday to the neighborhood of $3.29. — Ed A.
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- Diesel prices are on my mind, and Michigan seems to have avoided a Midwestern hike so far: https://t.co/2vuUW5O5LP 03:12:26 PM May 14, 2023 from Twitter Web App
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Why We Are Here
We enjoy predicting and trying to further our knowledge in the gasoline and oil industry. Our ultimate goal is to "win" the game of price hikes and to accurately predict hikes.
Current Contributors:
Ed A.: ab...@gvsu.edu
Craig P.: cr...@paull.net
Tim S.: ts...@gmail.com
Bill E.: pa...@yahoo.com
The name of the site is based off an essay Ed wrote for the Grand Rapids Press titled "The Gas Game". The current website was established later by Patrick DeHaan after he and Ed predicted gas price hikes on GasBuddy's website GrandRapidsGasPrices.com, as well as Ed’s personal web page.
Note: To be precise, add 9/10 of a cent to all prices described on this web page.
Current Contributors:
Ed A.: ab...@gvsu.edu
Craig P.: cr...@paull.net
Tim S.: ts...@gmail.com
Bill E.: pa...@yahoo.com
The name of the site is based off an essay Ed wrote for the Grand Rapids Press titled "The Gas Game". The current website was established later by Patrick DeHaan after he and Ed predicted gas price hikes on GasBuddy's website GrandRapidsGasPrices.com, as well as Ed’s personal web page.
Note: To be precise, add 9/10 of a cent to all prices described on this web page.
Careful with that title! Some people will actually believe that this impending spike is all about taking advantage of the Christmas driving season — even though it’s been a perfectly normal two weeks since the last spike, and the margin is razor thin or even negative in some locations.
Never below $3 here yet this year. 1 WMT down to $3.04. A lot at $3.19 here in South Bend still.
$3.29 in West Central Ohio…
Speedway’s are up at 3.29 now.
Last gas up was at 3.72 tonite. in Flint, one of the slow to changeover admiral stations I go to on spike days. So heres the thing, its very likely going to be 3.29 this time tomorrow. Just exactly like almost every other station in a 50 mile radius. But the local stations that were selling along a price curve 2.86, 2.99, and 3.09 are currently or will ALSO be magically resetting to 3.29 around midnite.
(So to folks like Ren, when people go waving the ‘Collusion’ banner on this site, its not at all difficult to see why.)
Every time I put in a gas price this evening I get the “This price seems high. Are you sure this is the correct price.”
Can’t believe I lucked out twice in a row. Filled up yesterday a couple hours before the hike hit.
@Ocho: Collusion is a provably illegal action. If it’s really collusion, contact the attorney general. If there were any basis for the allegation, I’m sure a politician like that would love the spotlight and admiration that would come with such legal action…
Another mild spike in east central Indiana. The local Greedway (ok Speedway Ren…Merry Christmas!) went from $3.05 to $3.29 and the Pilot Truck Stop bucked the trend and climbed only to $3.19 which made my day.
Ed A. was spot on about a price hike to $3.29. The Kroger station in Troy went from 3.09 on Wednesday to 3.29 yesterday. Thanks Ed, once again you saved me money.
The spot price damage: up 26.6 cents in the last 3 trading days. Be thankful if there’s not another hike at the pump before Christmas but expect one very soon after if spot prices don’t retreat.
I bet we DO see another jump Monday, to 3.399 in Ohio.
Something for all to ponder: Traveled to the in law’s in VA this week. Gas in WV was 3.29 to 3.49, getting higher the closer to Virginia we got. Keep in mind this was Wednesday, so pre spike. Gas in Fairfield, VA was 2.96. Guess which state has no Speedway presence.
Speedway responded to the runup with a rare Saturday hike in the Chicago market.
ChrisDG74…
Wholesale price increases would probably support another hike ASAP.
My perception is that Monday is TOO close to Christmas for Speedway to act based on past experience. No guarantee on that but they’ve never hiked on December 24 AFAIK. They got around the issue by hiking prices today (Saturday) in northeast Illinois, 3 days after most of their other markets.
Heres the mystery. The stations by the off ramps along a good 30 mile stretch between Ann Arbor and Flint that were 329… they stayed at 329. Even post spike. over the last 48 hours most stations in Flint have begun the gradual 1-2 cent per day float down in price HOWEVER…. a few stations which had on thursday gone up to the mysteriously uniform 3.29 hike at least 3 of them were back down to 2.97 2.98 and 3.09 Anyone else seeing signs of failed spike deflation? And Ren, I wasnt personally saying Collusion, just giving you heads up for when you feel the need to mount the ‘voice of reason /industry apologist’ podium later on. Sure, it makes sense to be safe, & go ahead and call it ‘alleged’ collusion, (while millions of consumers out there just have to go on the evidence of their eyes and wallets. <> So youre saying in essence that if it were real, some politician would have fixed it by now… (seriously?) all that said, I am relieved that the admiral station which had the insane 57 cent spike backslid to under 3 bucks.
The insanity of spikes will be with me forever after just one instance. Eleven years ago I was taking my child to her piano lesson and noticed a few stations spike to some way out of proportion price. We did have spikes then, of course, but nothing like that. Thinking that something bad must have happened I turned on the radio and indeed it was no more than an hour after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
I don’t know if the luminaries that control the price lever thought of some tin-foil conspiracy theory due to having an Israeli Air Force colonel in the Columbia crew, and the spike was very short lived. But it was the very fact that it happened that really made me question whether all common sense had left the building.