My g/f just called,she'd stopped at a convenience store on her way to work and was told gas/fuel prices are going to jump 30-40 cents because of this hurricane,supposedly tomorrow morning.

SaddleSore

Regular gas in central NC just jumped $0.15 or 6% in the last hours around Noon.

Shoulda filled the dooley's empty tank yesterday...40 gallons

Todd .. I disagree with your assesment  If the oil companies were making such profits, their stock would be a lot higher.  Sure, their profit is higher than before.  The oil companys make slightly more money with a higher price. It's called margin.  Still...I think the major money is going to the producers.  After all, the oil in the ground didn't change. 

As for the storm damage causing the oil spike.  The higher prices are being balanced by the cost of storm damage and the time cost of shuttered refineries.  I don't believe the oil companies are getting a big shot of profit in that balance.

I would rather choose to pay or not pay for gas than not be able to get gas at all ... (the consequence of price controls)

So my question is - Are you cutting back on any of your driving, either daily or horse related?  Being a frugal one income family, I've already passed on hauling to a couple of shows, and we've cut back on trail-riding plans for this fall.  I am also curious as to whether we'll be seeing more "larger" used trailers on the market as or if people downsize.  I certainly hope these increased fuel cost are not going to become the norm.

Sarah 

My dad work for Citgo for 24 years then retired.  He is now getting calls from companies to come back to work for companies that are wanting to expand production.  Thats the reason for the price,  we have all the oil we need we can't refine it quick enough to get to market.  Unfortunately trying to expand a facility now adays is next to impossible because of all the legal/environmental concerns that are present.  Yeah taking care of the environment is a good thing, but if we want fuel for 1.50 a gallon then realize that refineries will have to expand.

Go to your public meetings and listen to the nonsense arguments that people come up with against such expansions.  Well duh if you buy a house next to a refinery it will smell bad in that area.

I have not changed any show plans for the rest of the year. But next- I doubt I'll do out of state shows. but thats the way it is, when things get expensive, we have to make a choice. ground beef or steak? Chicken or pork? health insurance or not? new car or used- we face these choices all the time.

Unleaded just jumped from $2.74/gallon to $2.99 in a matter of two days. These are painful numbers to swallow and hard enough to see when the numbers on the pump rise. Yeah it plain sucks, I am sick of it, but we are in a real bad time right now, just have to go with it. I sometimes question the rest of my show season as far as traveling but I figure, that I can control how money leaves my wallet in other ways, like less shopping at The Gap.

How much do you pay for bottled water?  Does that bother you?

There hasn't been a new refinery built in 25-30 years.  Any idea how much more demand for gasoline/diesel/fuel oil there is now? 

Anyone want to make an educated comparison of gasoline prices 20-30 years ago vs today (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)?

Any state legislatures willing to lower the massive taxes on road fuels?

Anyone willing to open up more parts of Alaska for drilling?

Come on now . . . is it really ALL the fault of the big bad oil companies?

I sure don't think so . . . but then again I'm not a big conspiracy buff

It's the "sticker shock" that is getting everyone all wound up over gas prices. A gallon of gas going up 50-60cents in a matter of days? That is the problem people are having. If prices went up that much over a few years time, there would be less complaining.

I say quit your whining about how much it is costing you to fill up your vehicle and take a good look at what is happening down south right now. These people have nothing. It is quite humbling to say the least.

We are very fortunate,they're expecting the death toll to be around a thousand.

I just witnessed a girl put $92.00 in a Chevy Surburban and she'd put $16.00 in it about 15 miles earlier.

SaddleSore

What really irritates me is the fact that retailers use this horrible event to artificially inflate prices. Some people were on the radio this morning talking about how the hotel they were staying in raised prices after there were there for 2 days just because the knew they would be at full capacity. What a crock !!! If anything, they should give these people a discount because of the situation they are in. With their hotel at full capacity, that should actually decrease the price of the room, not increase it.

It was also reported last night that the amount of oil in the US will not change because of Katrina and Congress is insensed at the fact retailers are raising prices.......up to $1.00 a gallon increase in some areas. Louisiana produces approximately 40% of all US oil and only 25% of the refineries have been affected. That's about 10% of the total US Refineries. The remaining refineries in the US have agreed to increase their production to help make up for the loss. In addition, the US Government will release reserves to make up the difference. Therefore, there SHOULD NOT be any cost increase. Will someone please tell the retailers they need to be looking at what THEY can do to help the victims and not gouge the rest of us as they laugh all the way to the bank. I wouldn't have a problem with it if they all agreed to take the extra profits and donate them to help the victims of Katrina but I assure you, they have no intention of that.

Champ ... I don't agree with your assessment.    The problem is not oil supply, it is refinery capacity. We need gasoline, not crude oil in our cars.  Releasing oil from the Strategic reserve doesn't really help.  It's PR to soothe the ignorant masses.  Although it might depress crude prices a bit for a moment. 

The refineries are operating at about maximum capacity.  Where did you get that the remaining refineries agreed to increase their production?  "US demand has exceeded US crude oil distillation capacity every year since 1985"  This is from the Dep't of Energy  http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/pdf/feature/lidder3.pdf

There is no extra capacity.  That's why the prices are rising.  Supply and demand.  Somewhere in the ocean, a tanker (No..several tankers) of gasoline are getting the command to divert to the US because the price is higher than at the original destination.  It wll take several days to get here and several days to get to your favorite gas station.  The price will drop then...  The free market works better than any system, yet devised by man, to adapt to change.  Be careful of what you ask for.  If Gov't acts, it will only to muck it up. 

I'm just repeating what was televised last night on the NBC news. It was a State Representative to Congress who provided the information.

I do agree that demand does control prices to a certain extent as does supply. However, the end product we see at the gas stations should not be affected by the crude oil prices until that final product, gasoline, reaches the gas stations. I would understand it if crude oil prices rose this week and 2 months from now when the gasoline from that crude oil reached the gas stations, the gas price increased to reflect the increased crude price. However, that is not the case. They did not pay inflated prices for the gas they owned but yet increased their prices to the consumer.....all in the name of increased profits. It's all about Cost of Goods and markup and their COG's have not seen an increase but their markup certainly has. If crude oil prices fall $10.00 a barrel next week, do you think they would drop the prices comparably? NOPE. You also can't tell me that supply and demand have doubled in the past year to justify the price per gallon doubling. I can't think of anything that has doubled in price in the past 12 months.

Lastly, how can anyone justify the variance in price from $5.67 in Atlanta, GA to $3.69 in Chicago? How can anyone justify one Shell station at $2.99 and another one less than a mile away at $2.74? Different gas.....I don't think so. Different markup, BINGO. Unfortunately the retailers have the option to dictate prices in their area regardless of the cost and they are using the hurricane as an immediate excuse to raise prices and increase their profits. I don't agree with it just as I don't agree with hotel owners raising their prices for the hurricane victims.

These are my own opinions..........and you know what they say about opinions.

For every gallon we pump into our vehicles that gallon must be replaced in the service station tank.  If the station has to pay a higher price to replace that gallon that you just bought.  Then they have to charge you more to stay in busineess.