posted April 20, 2006 07:56 PM            

http://www.nbc10.com/slideshow/news/8831902/detail.html?qs=;s=10;p=/news/;dm=ss;w=400]http://www.nbc10.com/slideshow/news/8831902/detail.html?qs=;s=10;p=/news/;dm=ss;w=400

Check out these prices

I should also add that in 1950 gas was $0.26 per gallon. Today it is almost $3.00 per gallon. In FIFTY SIX years the gas has gone up $0.04 per year.

posted April 20, 2006 07:57 PM            

NBC 10 was live at one gas station when the pumps went dry at rush hour.

Slideshows:

Pictures Of Empty Gas Pumps
Gas Prices, From 1950 To 2006
Gas Prices Costs In Other Nations
Best Gas Mileage Vehicles
Worst Gas Mileage Vehicles

An NBC 10 news team was at a Wilmington, Del., gas station on Thursday afternoon, where reporter Bill Baldini informed drivers pulling up to the pumps that the station was on empty.

Closer to home for NBC10.com, a Luk Oil station just blocks from our station was out of gas as news trucks hit the street to report the Thursday afternoon news. Stations on the Admiral Wilson Boulevard in New Jersey and in several Pennsylvania areas are also out of fuel, or only selling premium fuel, AAA told NBC 10.

AAA spokeswoman Cathy Rossi told Baldini that the shortages were due to "logistics."

She said that a switch from MTBE to ethanol as a fuel additive is causing the shortages, and that more ethanol was in transit to refinieries.

Rossi said the shortages were expected to be temporary.

By temporary, AAA and other experts said the shortage situation could be for as long as 30 days. The news was unwelcome to drivers who saw a big jump at the gas pumps overnight. On Thursday morning, NBC 10 reported that prices at some local gas stations had hit $3 per gallon.

An NBC 10 news van stopping in Conshohocken, Pa., saw gas selling for $3.09 for a gallon of regular unleaded at a local station.

Don't expect those prices to go down in the near future.

Overseas on Thursday, crude oil prices hit a new record intraday high of $72.49 after weekly data showed a drop in U.S. gasoline stocks.

This is raising worries that refiners don't have an adequate inventory cushion ahead of the peak summer driving season.

posted April 21, 2006 04:34 AM              

So overall, Americans who live in suburbs are the worst off in this crisis if the annual gas bill from driving is considered in totality.

Heres a calculation. 40 miles per day of driving x 250 working days = 10000 miles per annum.

Fuel efficiency = 25 miles/gallon average.

Thats about 400 gallons per annum on working days only. Or about 800$ per year on gas on working days @ 2$ a gallon.
1200$ at 3$.
2000$ per year at 5$ a gallon.

posted April 21, 2006 05:57 PM              

GasBuddy.com can help you find cheap gas prices in your city. It is a network of more than 173+ gas price information web sites that helps you find low gasoline prices. All web sites are operated by GasBuddy and has the most comprehensive listings of gas prices anywhere.

http://www.gasbuddy.com

posted April 24, 2006 07:39 PM            

By John W. Schoen
Senior Producer
MSNBC

With gasoline prices rising relentlessly here in the U.S., Joseph in California is wondering whether drivers in other countries are feeling the same pain at the pump that he is. It turns out American drivers aren't seeing the worst of it. But they're also not enjoying the kind of energy bargains available in some parts of the world.

I would be curious to know how other countries are faring with the run-up on gas prices. Are they being exposed to the same price shock that Americans are experiencing right now?
Joseph M., Linden, Calif.

Gasoline prices are going up around the world, but the pain is not being felt everywhere the same way. Drivers in some countries pay a lot more than U.S. consumers. But others pay substantially less. That’s because pump prices don’t reflect just the cost of gasoline.

In most of the industrialized world, including Europe and Japan, pump prices are much higher than in the U.S. – even though the wholesale price is roughly the same. The difference is a heavy tax load those countries impose to discourage consumption.

The Dutch have the dubious distinction of paying the most to fill 'er up, according to the U.S. Deptatment of Energy. (There are various agencies that track gasoline prices, but these are among the most recent figures available.) As of April 10, drivers in the Netherlands were paying the equivalent of about $6.73 a gallon at the pump. The gas itself cost $2.61; the rest — $4.12 — represented tax. That’s a 158 percent tax. By comparison, the U.S. has the lowest tax on gasoline of any industrialized country: about 15 percent at current prices.

Elsewhere in the industrialized world, the actual cost of gasoline ranges from $2.15 a gallon (France) to $2.61 in the Netherlands. But the after-tax price is $5.80 in France and over $6 a gallon in most other major European countries. Japanese drivers get off relatively easy: taxes there only push pump prices to about $4.50 a gallon.

So much for Europe and Japan. In less-developed parts of the world, some countries actually subsidize pump prices to keep them below what the gasoline actually costs to make. China, which recently raised fuel prices, still keeps them well below international market rates. Chinese drivers — and farmers — still pay the equivalent of less than $2 a gallon. As a result, the oil refining industry there is losing billions of dollars. That’s why the Chinese government is expected to continue to try to raise retail prices, while trying to avoid a major consumer backlash.

The cheapest places to top off, not surprisingly, are in countries that produce the most oil. In Iraq, until recently, pump prices were capped at 10 cents a gallon. Prices have recently risen to nearly 40 cents a gallon — still a bargain compared to the U.S. Iran also keeps pump prices low — less than 35 cents a gallon, according to a recent Reuters survey.

But for a real bargain, drive on down to Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has made a name for himself lately by delivering heating fuel to low-income American families at bargain prices. In Venezuela, you’ll pay just 12 cents a gallon to fill your tank.

BOYCOTT BACKFIRE
How about we do what has been going around the Internet and stop buying gas from the big oil companies. … Do you think it would have an impact on prices?
Barbara R., Boston, Mass.

It might. But if such a boycott were actually to take hold, the result could drive prices even higher.

Many of the folks suggesting this remedy have suggested targeting specific gasoline brands on a specific day to try to “maximize” the impact. It’s true that if everyone stopped buying from a specific company on a given day, that company would likely see an overall drop in sales revenue for that day. (For many gasoline retailers, pump receipts are only a portion of their overall revenue, but let’s assume for the moment they just sell gas.)

Despite a one-day drop, the station would likely see a pickup in sales on the days before and after such a boycott. People still need to get to work. So the revenues for the week would be roughly the same with or without the boycott.

But let’s assume that the organizers of this boycott were able to sustain it — day in, day out, week in, week out — against a single supplier of gasoline. Since we all still have to fill up our tanks, such a boycott would simply shift demand to other suppliers. With less competition, those suppliers would have less incentive to hold down their prices. So boycotting a single brand would likely raise pump prices, not lower them.

The only thing that would help ease prices is a drop in overall demand. Despite the rapid rise in prices, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Though it’s a bit lower than it was at this time last year, demand for gasoline is rising — as it usually does when the weather warms up and the peak summer driving season approaches.

© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

© 2006 MSNBC.com

posted December 29, 2011 09:45 PM            

Yep Randall. O'Bomber has resisted every attempt to bring American energy sources to market. He's shut down oil production in the Gulf and shut down a large energy find in Ohio as well as keeping ANWAR off limits. Now, he's also against the pipeline project to bring Canadian energy to American refineries.

He talks about American energy independence out of one side of his mouth and out of the other side, opposes every project which would reduce American dependence on energy producers who reside in the most unstable parts of the world and also don't like us very much.

His policies are costing Americans about $350B a year in American wealth being transferred out of America.

On the day O'Bomber took over, regular gasoline cost $1.87 per gallon and a barrel of crude sold for as low as $32. Today, crude oil is selling for $100 per barrel.

posted February 21, 2012 11:01 AM            

As you have correctly stated, price of any commodity is based on supply and demand...or even the perception the supply side of the equation may be interrupted or reduced.

O'Bomber has done everything in his power to restrict American supplies of crude oil from which gasoline is refined.

Now, this is what amazes me. The evidence of what O'Bomber is doing..which is the opposite of what he says he wants and what he could do with the application of 10 seconds of his time with his signing pen...seems to totally elude O'Bomber's Kool-Aid drinking brigades.