Comment on the October 15 prediction: Basically CORRECT, as prices continued to slide, but stayed above $2.99 in west Michigan.
Monday, October 23, 2023, 8:00 PM: I just got back from central Florida, where I saw several stations at $2.99, but also as high as $3.35. I also wanted to wait until the end of the day today to take the latest read of the markets. Oil prices were lower today, and wholesale gas prices have been stable and lower all month, which has allowed prices to slowly drop. Seeing $3.09 in the Jenison/Hudsonville area this evening, and finally down to $3.29 along Lake Michigan Drive.
Wholesale prices would allow us to see drops below $3, so now it is a question of whether the retailers will want to clean up their spreadsheets with a system-wide reset to $3.39. (And yes, there are still a bunch of stations above that price.) I can imagine it happening, and I can also imagine prices continuing to drift lower. Yeah, that’s not very helpful, but there was a random hike in Indiana over the last few days, and we’re in the same place in terms of the math. Best option is to fill up for $3.09-$3.19 tomorrow, just in case. -EA
Several $3.49 in central Indiana
Looks like spot dropped fairly sharply to start the week then (using alternate source data to the usual) soared 16.5c or so today on tighter supply concerns. Markets that saw a hike this week are probably good. But speaking for the Chicago market, any further rise in spot next week could trigger a price restoration to the same levels as 2 weeks ago.