Re: (OT:) The price of a barrel goes up...

Moe wrote:
Jeff wrote:
Moe wrote:
Jeff wrote:
Norm De Plume wrote:

Mike hunt wrote:

I guess it depends on ones definition of "The price of gas goes up every
time crude goes up" Last year a time crude was around $60 a barrel and
gas was around $2.60. Today crude is up to $130 a barrel yet gas is not up
to $5 a gallon, it is $4. Obviously it did not go up EVERY time crude
when up ;)

From the information you provided, it is not obvious the price of
gasoline rose every time the price of crude rose. At best you've
shown that the price of gas did not go up proportionally as much as
the price of crude. Perhaps your 3% CO2 atmosphere is affecting your
mental process, as it did when you said the Federal Reserve didn't
exist in the early 1940s. ;)


Actually, if you subtract the cost of transportation, refining and taxes, then I think you would find that the price of gasoline is pretty closely related to the cost of crude oil. However, it is not perfectly related. Politics and supply and demand play a role, as do other factors.

Jeff
The true cost, even with the 4 dollar drop in crude this week, hasn't been passed on, If you think 4 dollar gas is expensive try pushing you car as far as it will go on a gallon of gas. The price won't bother you nearly as much after you've pushed it a few miles.

That, IMHO, is a stupid comment.

The hot money is now looking at refineries,
http://www.insidefutures.com/article/67199/$140%20Next?.html
Notice how the Crack Spread reached $30/bbl at the end of May 2007. But this year, the spread has struggled for most of 2008 to get above $15/bbl. And now it appears the spread has is once again gaining some momentum, climbing its way back towards the $30 level, which I believe it will try to get back to. However, it has a way to go and from there it will require a shift in momentum to turn it around. When we see the Crack Spread start trading sideways, after it moves above $30/bbl, then a top might be forming.

Gee, the oil companies, including refineries, are in business to make money.
And the money isn't getting made in refiners, right now, look for that to change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051200861.html

The article is a little off. For one, not all refiners were losing money. Valero, which supposed lost money actually had a postive cash flow. Sunoco, Frontier and ExxonMobil also made money in their refining (or downstream) businesses in the US for the last several quarters. For sure, they didn't make as much money on the refining business as they did in the past, but they are definitely making money.

However, the gist of the article is correct: Oil companies are not making as much money at refining oil, and they will do what is necessary to make more money.

Personally, I don't see a problem with this. This is what they are in business for.


Jeff
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: (OT:) The price of a barrel goes up...
    ... time crude goes up" Last year a time crude was around $60 a barrel and ... Today crude is up to $130 a barrel yet gas is not up ... gasoline rose every time the price of crude rose. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: (OT:) The price of a barrel goes up...
    ... time crude goes up" Last year a time crude was around $60 a barrel ... Today crude is up to $130 a barrel yet gas is ... gasoline rose every time the price of crude rose. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: (OT:) The price of a barrel goes up...
    ... time crude goes up" Last year a time crude was around $60 a barrel and ... Today crude is up to $130 a barrel yet gas is not up ... gasoline rose every time the price of crude rose. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: (OT:) The price of a barrel goes up...
    ... time crude goes up" Last year a time crude was around $60 a barrel and ... Today crude is up to $130 a barrel yet gas is not up ... gasoline rose every time the price of crude rose. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: OT: Gas Prices -- Help at last?
    ... >> out dependence on foreign crude. ... >> to reduce the average American's use of gas unless forced to do so. ... If the utility you get from $4 or $5 a gallon is significant to ... even the most efficient refineries are not going to change that a lot. ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)