Sound Off on Current Diesel Price

Yes, I am aware of that and after driving my TDI for 7 years I have also heard every explanation of the futures markets and always the not-so-subtle "you just don't understand how things work". What I understand is that the commodities markets are so flush with cash that any news, good or bad, is seen as an excuse to jack the price around. The fact that a workable solution may be in the works for Europe has little to do with the fact that China's and India's economy are showing serious signs of slowing and our own economy is still on life support. Just another good day for the day traders and hedgies while the rest of us take it in the shorts. Our economy is getting a pretty big boost from lower energy prices, not likely to last much longer I'm afraid.

I saw D2 and RUG for the same $3.469 today in Aurora CO. But at most places D2 is running $3.599-3.799, RUG is going for $3.549-3.709, E-85 is selling for $2.999 most places.

Murphy USA Plano, Tx

D2 $3.34
RUG $3.00

Texaco - OR City, OR - HWY 213

RUG 3.59,9

D2 3.49,9

$4.12

1.17 per liter, price dropping slowly, 2 weeks ago it was 1.20 per liter. There is a closer station selling for 1.14 per liter but its a full serve.Since i brim the tank and they don't, i never fill there.

Still $3.39 for D2 and $3.44 for B15. I noticed one station by me with a sign that they are now carrying alcohol free rug for about the same price as mid grade.

Elko Nevada $3.60 cheapest I can find it! I did see a place where it was .05 cheaper than gas. First I saw that since I bought my 03 Jetta.

Down here in Baldwin County, Alabama it's hovering around $3.499 while regular is down to $2.999. It a long time for diesel to fall after gas' meteoric fall. Gas dropped 80¢ a gallon since the first of May, Diesel is down just 40¢.

We just lost one diesel outlet. The town's only remaining BP dropped diesel for ethanol-free midgrade (marine gas). The diesel nozzle and hose were replaced with a very thick hose and bulkier looking handle, with a big tag on it saying "ethanol free gasoline" now. Getting people to stop reporting the price on the sign as diesel on GasBuddy has been an uphill battle.

At least there's a consolation prize in the works, as a nearby Walmart Neighborhood Market is building a Murphy Express out front and it'll feature diesel. They're usually pretty competitive on diesel prices, so I'm happy to have one new choice.

7/1/12
RUG= $3.59
D2 = $3.59

I took the truck in to town yesterday to get fuel, 100 Gal. transfer tank and three, 5 gallon RUG jugs. Upon entering my reward card the pump jockey asked if I wanted to use my $1.20 per gallon savings to which I replied yes. 108 gals of D2 and 15 Gals of RUG later I had saved $150! After rewards card cost $2.39 per gallon!

RUG went way down here. D2 went up. I don't get it.

TornadoRed said:

CRoberts: the price of something today always incorporates some estimate of what will happen to supply and demand tomorrow, next week, and next year. In the oil markets, the time frame is even longer, because it takes so long to develop an oilfield or to build a refinery.

I imagine that the recent downtrend probably went too far, too fast; but I would not be surprised to see WTI back down into the $70s in another week or two, and Brent back below $90. That's because this short-covering rally is unlikely to signal a real trend.

Crude prices in the $70-90 range are high enough to encourage both investment and conservation, yet low enough to allow for modest economic growth.

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Jerry,

With a near 10% price change in one day, u can not say demand changed that mi h in less than 24 hours.

T.J.K. said:

RUG went way down here. D2 went up. I don't get it.

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One good reason is that gasoline futures are in backwardization and heating oil futures (the basis for all distillate fuel pricing) is in contango.

This means if you buy 50,000 barrels of heating oil today, put it in storage, and hedge your purchase by taking a short position on January or February futures, then you can lock in a reasonable profit. After you pay for the storage fees, and the interest on the money you have locked up in the HO purchase, the market will still pay you enough to encourage buying and storing.

Then look at the price curve for gasoline futures: the highest price is for the spot month. (It just switched to August 2012 today.) If you buy gasoline and store it for a month, you will lose 8 cents a gallon. If you hold it until October, you'll lose an additional 17 cents a gallon. So there is an enormous incentive to get rid of any gasoline you might have, whether you're a refiner or a wholesaler or even just a retail station owner.

That is why gasoline prices tend to drop much faster than diesel prices at the pumps, and maybe why some stations are keeping their prices so high that they're selling very little.

Also, consider the commodity funds. Each month they roll from the expiring contract into the next contract. This is a guaranteed loser if they are speculating on gasoline futures, so the funds would tend to avoid gasoline like the plague.

Did about 2000 miles this week from ohio->sc->md->oh
sc had a lot of 3.50 even on hilton head island (captive audience). md was 3.49 to 3.79. PA was the most expensive in the 3.80s in some places ???? back in NE ohio i see 3.49 as the cheapest but 3.59 more common

john.jackson9213 said:

Jerry,
With a near 10% price change in one day, u can not say demand changed that mi h in less than 24 hours.

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Expectations explain part of the change, and market dynamics the rest. By that I mean the short speculator, those who believe prices are headed even lower, were getting too enthusiastic (overly exuberant, to quote Alan Greenspan). So it didn't take much of a short-covering rally to scare some of these speculators, especially if they had stop orders in place to cover their positions if prices rallied to a certain level.

06/20/12
$3.45 Kum n' Go Omaha, NE. I know goofy name... lol

TornadoRed said:

Expectations explain part of the change, and market dynamics the rest. By that I mean the short speculator, those who believe prices are headed even lower, were getting too enthusiastic (overly exuberant, to quote Alan Greenspan). So it didn't take much of a short-covering rally to scare some of these speculators, especially if they had stop orders in place to cover their positions if prices rallied to a certain level.

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Jerry,

So do you agree with me that much of the short term oil price fluctuations reflect speculative transactions by those with no intent of taking delivery of oil, nor the means to deliver oil they contract to sell?

oops, wrong thread. Euro info-Yes...go Espana

My Uncle tanked up his Nissan Patrol while I was there recently (June 18th, 2012). The prices I was seeing in Spain (Mediterranean coast South of Barcelona) were hovering near 1.32 Euro per liter.



80.64 liters is 21.3 US gallons, 106.36 Euro is about $133. This converts to about $6.25 per gallon.

We are paying about $3.30 per gallon for diesel in the Kansas City area today. So diesel costs around twice as much for him. Gasoline prices were a very close to the same as diesel. My uncle tells me the price advantage of diesel is nearly gone, but he still likes his patrol for the torque and fuel economy. It is an awesome truck! Just imagine if you drove an escalade or Suburban there, and had to fill closer to 30 gallons 30 x 6 =180

john.jackson9213 said:

Jerry,
So do you agree with me that much of the short term oil price fluctuations reflect speculative transactions by those with no intent of taking delivery of oil, nor the means to deliver oil they contract to sell?

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Yes, that's true, and it is perfectly fine. These speculators create a lot more liquidity than if the market was just long hedgers and short hedgers.

I'm seeing a diesel price of $3.449 at a local Murphy USA online, which if accurate would be the cheapest around here. I'll investigate later today.

Baldwin County gas prices have finally dipped below the $3 mark in some places, so there's still a pretty decent price difference.

Local Shell stations continue to amuse with their pricing shenanigans, too. I have two Shells in opposite directions as my closest fuel sources. One's diesel is $3.529 and the other's is $3.899. The $3.529 one actually jumped 3¢ yesterday (up 11¢ for gas) and now they stick out as the high priced outlier. It spooked me until I saw that the rest of the area's prices were the same.

I saw Diesel go up $.03 gal at Sevena Park Shell, Thanks to Stinky shooting of his missles.

$3.55 at my diesel only station in Blandon, PA. Average prices around the area seem to be around $3.50-$3.80

$3.57.9 @ Irving Westminster.

July 4th

$3.25 at HyVee in Gladstone Missouri (North KC area).

But $3.29 at the BP where I usually tank up.

I blame Obama for the prices going down.

Boulder/Denver CO: Cheapest in Boulder is $3.50, highest is $3.60, which is $0.01 higher than yesterday. Cheapest I'm seeing on GasBuddy site in the Denver area is $3.43 at 136th & Colo. Blvd.. Going there tomorrow on my way back from the airport to fill up. Will save about $2 to fill my Jetta's tank.

My last last 3 fill ups have gotten cheaper each time. I filled up yesterday for $3.39/Gallon using my Ralphs discount at my local Shell station. Very cheap by Los Angeles standards. I'm wondering how long this will continue.

So, why is fuel so expensive where you live?

Compared to most of Europe, fuel is cheap in the USA, relatively speaking.

Because, government taxes on fuel pays for the road construction projects and repairs, as well as bridges. It fluctuates up and down around the country depending on how much is coming into and going out of particular refineries, and the regional demand. So, while fuel was cheap in Colorado over the winter, it's now more expensive because the reserves here are more depleted than a few months back.

And of course, the coming elections.

EJtdeye said:

My last last 3 fill ups have gotten cheaper each time. I filled up yesterday for $3.39/Gallon using my Ralphs discount at my local Shell station. Very cheap by Los Angeles standards. I'm wondering how long this will continue.

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Judging by the recent spike in prices for crude oil and products in the futures markets, and the jump in the wholesale/rack price of #2 diesel here in the Twin Cities, it's my prediction that diesel prices are headed higher in the short term at least.

I recommend everyone fill their tanks as soon as they can, at the best price they can find.

Additionally, at this time of year it is a good idea to have the fuel tank at least half full so that hot fuel recirculating to the tank gets well diluted with cooler fuel. Most of us do not have fuel coolers, so it only take a couple hours of driving to raise the temperature of the fuel in the tank by 10° to 20° F or more.

Cheapest ive seen in portland, or is 3.55 at this place on mlk and columbia in NE pdx

Prices are definitely trending upwards. I stopped at the Murphy USA I mentioned in my last post yesterday because the diesel was still showing $3.449 on GasBuddy. Turns out it had jumped to $3.529, so I drove on. Gas is *really* spiking here, and most stations are up 10 or 20¢ as the day wears on. Diesel is up a few cents here and there but some are still holding down at $3.499.

I got a brief moment of hope when I heard about the Motiva screwup (their new expansion was ruined due to an acid leak) and their plans to produce more diesel until the expansion is fixed and fired up… But I guess it's all going overseas because prices are definitely on the rise.