Comment on the January 1 prediction: We got the hike to $2.09, but it didn’t come until Monday the 5th. That’s close enough for me, so I’m scoring it CORRECT.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015, 8:00PM: Sorry for the silence the past three weeks. I’m having a hard time making sense of the numbers after the Energy Crash of 2014, although my stance right now is that prices are going to start rising as they usually do the first four months of the year. Right now, January 13 looks like the day of the low for energy (oil closed at $45.89 a barrel), and we got just enough of a jump in wholesale gas prices today that, combined with recent retail drops, puts us in the price hike zone. I am going to plan on a hike to the $2.09-$2.19 range in the next few days, maybe as soon as tomorrow.
I think what has contributed to the Crash was some traders or funds blowing up and having to sell their energy future contracts. As an example of a currency trading firm that was wiped out earlier this month: glad I didn’t own stock in FXCM. –EA
Yes expecting a hike tomorrow or the next day in CHicagoland after a 5-6 cents surge in CBOB/RBOB spot prices. Especially if RBOB futures decline tomorrow, lately Speedway takes that as a signal to lock in extra profits.
Cost up 7 cents to me today, 1.93. I expect a hike as well.
And there’s the hike… looks like Speedway going with $2.15 for Indy/Indiana, $1.99 for Michigan and Ohio
At least the spikes to $1.99 are a little easier take?
South Bend, IN Speedway spike is underway to $2.19. Fill up for $1.79-1.99 while you can.
Not that it isn’t coming but I haven’t seen a spike in Ohio yet. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to spike at $1.99 because the Ohio average is $1.93 and Cincinnati’s is $1.96.
That 6 cent pop in Spot just triggered a 30 cent a gallon spike at the local Greedway….up to $2.19 now in Delaware County Indiana.
Chris…you’re looking at only part of the equation. In particular How much has THAT Speedway dropped since the last hike and what has happened to wholesale over that span.
It’s easier to just shake his fist in anger.
The good thing is Jim are two Pilot stations next to the Speedway. Nine out of every 10 spikes they never match Speedway’s price, rather going up 5 to 10 cents lower forcing Speedway back down within a matter of hours.
Thank god for competition right Ren!
Will somebody please tell me why, with similar costs and taxes (within a nickle), does MI have such cheaper gas (by 10 to 20¢) than does IN? Or really, did I miss something in the cost structure?
Because Indiana has more gullible people than Michigan. I’ve lived in both…
Yes, that has to be the explanation. There can’t be any actual math involved. And New York and California have the most gullible people in the country. And don’t get me started on Europe.
As far as reality goes, check the past year. For almost the ENTIRE YEAR Indiana’s price was lower than Michigan’s. I guess all the gullible people crossed the border on Jan. 1?
Here’s the chart (you probably have to cut and paste the full URL):
http://charts.gasbuddy.com/ch.gaschart?Country=Canada&Crude=f&Period=12&Areas=Indiana,Michigan,&Unit=US%20$/G
Stupid inconvenient facts…
Ren, you are aware that California and New York have higher taxes than Indiana, right?
This isn’t about Indiana vs California but rather Indiana vs Michigan…
The part about Europe is likewise incorrect…
I used to have arguments over why Michigan had higher gas prices than Indiana with someone on Gasbuddy. I’m sure he’s all upset Michigan is now lower for the first time in a long while.
Michigan’s rack prices for some reason are 5 cents lower than Indiana’s, but that doesn’t explain the other 10 cents difference.
And Turbo, NY, Cali, and Europe pay more for gas than we do, taxes or not. They must be gullible to pay all that extra tax, right?
Ohio and KY will spike tomorrow, to at least $2.099. Speedway has to make it worthwhile. 18 cents above the average should do it, once again putting us back above the US average.
I spent a good amount of time in Europe (army brat) growing up and would love to pay European gas prices if they come with mass transit, free college, and many other bennies they get.
Thanks, Ren. It’s only this last month. Seemed longer.
Turbo, you completely missed the point. I was just illustrating how ridiculous your gullibility point was. If anything, you were gullible enough to believe the falsehood you were responding to.
BTW, not to turn this political, but there’s no such thing as “free college.” Nothing provided by the government is EVER free.
Ren, you and I totally agree on that one. Nothing is ever so as expensive as when it’s “free”.
The Lansing area spiked overnight to 1.99.
No spike in Ohio so far. I am surprised.
1 speedway holding out in Michigan 68th Street 131 at 1.85 yet shell across the street raised 199 yesterday but went back down to 185 today to match speedway we’ll see if it lasts till the end of the day
Bearcat500…
There’s always Saturday. There were several Saturday spikes in Chicago and other Speedway markets about a year agi,
So far Costco and Sam’s Club resisted going up and stayed at 1.679. Now some of the other stations close to them are back down to 1.799 after going to 1.999 yesterday. – in the Kalamazoo area.
Hello Jim,
We must be leading a charmed life in Ohio. At 12:15 no spike. The spikes in 2014 on Saturday were all very swift in coming and by this time of day most stations followed the memo price.
Count us both as surprised this time as GREEDway has shown some rare restraint. I’m sure our luck will run out come Monday though.
Apparently just CHicago today…up to $2.15 and $2.25 (Cook County) which is tame compared to what I expected.
Many places are back under $2.00, including Speedway stations. A couple along my commute dropped very quickly after the 2.19 spike.
One can only wonder…
Ohio spiking to $2.159 this morning. Early this time.
Ohio spiked to $2.15, Speedway leading the way.
Called Speedway’s marketing guy, couldn’t give a reason for it as usual other than the scripted excuses. Doesn’t even know what RBOB is.
Interesting… Rolling wave of spikes. By the time Ohio spikes Indiana has dropped quite a bit… Squirrel shortage perhaps?
Interesting that the crude market did not freak out with the Saudi King’s passing and Yemen… Let’s see if they’ll drag the Greek elections into it 🙂
Just look at the math on this very site. Ohio has a negative margin, Michigan is razor-thin.
This isn’t just a site to shake your fist in anger. It provides information. I suggest people use it.
Ren, we know what is happening. We don’t know why it is happening… And raising prices in one state and dropping in another? Priceless.
Nobody’s shaking fists in anger. Most of us prefer to vote with our wallets instead.
Not to wax gloom, but voting with our wallets is probably exactly why, when we started buying gas only at the bottom of the price swings is why the stations had to raise the bottom of the swings. So now it is more important than ever to purchase only at the bottom of the swings.
Did notice an article talking about how in recent weeks there have been problems/fires at the refineries in Lima, OH; Robinson, IL; and BP Whiting, IN. Makes sense if that is the case why Indiana has stayed so much higher than Michigan and Ohio since they are all nearby and affect us more.
“And raising prices in one state and dropping in another? Priceless.”
That’s not uncommon at all. Jrunner gets it. Different refineries have had to shut down in different locations. I knew this just by watching low-level local news. I didn’t even have to look for this information.
Information? Priceless.
“Nobody’s shaking fists in anger.”
That’s certainly how a couple of you constant complainers and conspiracy theorists sound. Maybe change your tone if you don’t want to miscommunicate your true feelings.
And once again, Ren, you miss the credibility issue. In the past we had seen plenty of cases where a small refinery outage in state X would be used as a scapegoat for states X, Y, and Z. If now prices at the pump reflect true pricing, the more power to them, but decades’ worth of squirrel excuses won’t make instant believers out of most rational people.
Now pardon me while I fill up from a non Speedway station at 1.87$… I’ll shake my fist in anger on the way out 🙂
Ultimately consumers will have the final say in this. Timm called it spot-on.
“Decades worth of squirrel excuses.”
One time. Just because you beat a bad joke to death for decades, it doesn’t mean it has actually been happening for a decades.
Your accusations of “scapegoats” are baseless speculation. Your problem is that you always turn uncertainty into allegations. Could shady things be happening? Possibly, at times. But it’s just plain paranoia to constantly assume that shady things are always happening.
“Ultimately consumers will have the final say in this.”
That’s ALWAYS been true. That’s never varied. It’s our insatiable appetite for the product that drives its price. Without our need for it, there would be no oil industry.
So, I’m not missing anything. I just don’t always assume the worst of corporations. That’s called being rational.
CBOB soared nearly 7 cents today. 🙁 It’s that time of year. Even worse for Chicago RBOB.
“I just don’t always assume the worst of corporations. That’s called being rational.”
And that is where we differ… It’s called being a pragmatist.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article8036955.html
A federal judge in Kansas City, Kan., has signed off on settlements with 28 oil companies and retailers in litigation claiming customers were knowingly overcharged when gas station fuel temperatures rose.
One (and ONLY one) station along my commute has dropped from the spike price. From $2.159 down to $1.989. Guess where I’ll be topping off tomorrow…..
Ren, it is what it is. I honestly preferred when I lived in Wisconsin for a year with the minimum markup laws that stopped the cycling. But at the end of the day, I still probably get it cheaper in indiana by hitting the low end of the cycle, and hitting the lowest speedway I can that is selling it below cost and then using my “speedy rewards” card to get free stuff from them monthly… feels like one way of sticking it to them. I honestly think they make little to no money off of me.
Jrunner, although I never buy from Speedway, I also believe nobody makes much $$ off me. I never buy anything inside, and almost never miss buying at the bottom of the cycle. BUT remember that Speedway has increased their profits by raising the line where they spike. They no longer spike at or below what we call here, their cost to sell. They instead are pushing the bottoms of the cycles to 12¢ (or so) above what we here project to be their cost to sell (Zero Margin).
Probably EXACTLY because of guys like you and I. And the obfuscation of pricing brought on by the cycling hides the increased margin well, unless you use a site like this.
Heads up in Michigan… pushing a $2.19 hike at Speedway this morning (7 stations up across broad geographic region, Cadillac to GR to Bay City to Detroit, likely more to follow soon)
Yep, guess Greedway just couldn’t help themselves any longer..blew past the $2 mark. Jumped to 2.199. Was good while it lasted.
Any station selling below $2 would be losing money. Reason for the spike.
Gas prices jumped 20 cents in Troy, MI today. They’re up to 2.19 at the Kroger station I generally go to. This is the highest I’ve seen gas in awhile. Prices seem to almost fluctuate on a daily basis around here.
It’s a good thing Ren has this site to vent on. He seems to find great delight in cranky replies! I can’t help but laugh when I read what he says because he gets so bent out of shape. Relax, Ren life is short. Hopefully Turbo46032’s comment about “decade’s worth of squirrel excuses” didn’t cause your blood pressure to rise too much. I find Turbo46032’s comments to be both insightful and entertaining.