GasPrices posts
FeedPosted Aug 3rd 2009 4:20PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Oil

So much for the break for U.S. motorists at the gas pump. Gasoline prices have rebounded about 10 cents in the last week alone, to an average unleaded regular price of $2.54 per gallon, according to data compiled by
gasbuddy.com.
U.S. motorists had hoped for a gas price decline of about 30 cents on oil's plunge from $72 per barrel to $57 per barrel earlier this summer. It did not happen. The price of oil didn't remain lower long enough, with gasoline dropping only about 15-20 cents per gallon across the nation, before rebounding in late July.
Continue reading No relief for U.S. drivers: Oil jumps above $70
Posted Jul 14th 2009 4:45PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Economic Data, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Last summer we lamented the price of gas. This year, however, there's at least one upside. Retail sales for June were up 0.6% - substantially better than the 0.4% anticipated – with the gas prices leading the charge. A slight tip in the brutalized auto manufacturer sector helped, as well. This was the largest retail sales increase in five months.
Gas stations benefited from the cost of fuel, adding a bit of pep to a beleaguered retail industry: sales were up 5% year over year, after doing the same in May. And, car dealers had their best month since January: the sales of cars and parts climbed 2.3%. Nonetheless, this corner of the retail world is still off 14.5% from last year. It may have helped last month, but we're still pretty far from a cure.
Continue reading Gas prices drive retail sales rebound, coveted brands still struggle
Posted Jun 1st 2009 3:20PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, International Markets, Forecasts, Consumer Experience, China, Middle East, Economic Data, Oil, Recession, Financial Crisis

Oil prices are picking up right where they
left off on Friday, gaining another $1.72 a barrel, up to $68.03. We noted last week that a big reason oil has been moving so high lately was increased in optimism in the overall American economy.
Two more indicators showed up today that have really got Wall Street betting on continued rising oil costs. The first is a weakening of the dollar, and the second would be signs that manufacturing is strengthening once more in China. Both of these indicators were major reasons why we saw oil spike to record levels last summer, and their emergence now could signal that oil could continue heading higher.
Continue reading Another strong move for oil prices
Posted May 29th 2009 5:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Forecasts, Consumer Experience, Middle East, Market Matters, Oil, Recession, Financial Crisis

There is still much debate taking place as to whether or America is close to coming out of its current recession, but you would not know it by watching oil prices over the past few months. Today was no exception, with
prices moving above $66 barrel as we head into the weekend.
It seems like a long time ago that oil prices were hovering down in the low $30's, but it was not all that long ago... just five months to be exact. As oil has been rising, so have gasoline prices. It is easy to view the current gas prices as "cheap", considering where we were this time last year, but you have probably already noticed a nice jump in what you are paying these days.
Continue reading Oil closes out the week strong
Posted Jan 26th 2009 12:12PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron Corp (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Serious Money, Oil

Oil prices have come down over $100 a barrel in the last six months, and so have oil stocks. How many people out there would have lost their house, not due to the reasons we've become accustomed, but due to betting the wrong way on oil? How many out there thought oil would stay near $147 a barrel rather than drop to the mid $30s in six months? I admit I might have been one of those people. Oil is currently trading in the mid $40s.
I have been paying about $2 a gallon for premium gasoline in Southern California -- sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower -- but a far cry from the $4.85 I paid in the summer. I can't even believe my eyes or my wallet relief. Five dollar gas is but a memory. We should all keep that in mind because we all know it is coming back to a gas station near you. We just don't know when.
This week's cover story in
Barron's,
"Big Oil's a Buy" (subscription required), highlights seven companies with varying degrees of support. The author, Dimitra Defotis, discusses companies with depressed stock prices, which may go lower; and with: relatively solid dividends; the possibility that mergers and acquisitions might be on the horizon; and stock buy-backs options. The four key stocks Defotis likes are XOM, TOT, BP and PBR. For example, XOM was chosen because of superior management and stacks of cash; PBR because of its reserves. Defotis questions the debt levels and access to new reserves of COP and RDS.
Continue reading Serious Money: Barron's pumping oil again!
Posted Jan 20th 2009 12:50PM by Peter Cohan (RSS feed)
Filed under: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron Corp (CVX), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP)
This morning my wife asked me this question and I had no idea how to answer it. But it's true that oil is down -- it trades at $34.39 a barrel; while gasoline prices have been rising between 10 and 20 cents a gallon from the low. I paid $1.66 a gallon for mid-grade three weeks ago and $1.79 for mid-grade last week. So what's the answer? Less supply because refiners shut down for regular maintenance during this time of year.
While this may not be true throughout the country, it appears to be so in California. In late December, The MercuryNews predicted that gasoline prices would rise 10 to 20 cents a gallon. Why? California refiners including Exxon-Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) cut back on production for their usual maintenance needs in January. Moreover, a BP plc (NYSE: BP) plant in Carson, CA , had mechanical problems that affected production.
Overall this means lower supply with demand remaining relatively constant. California's Energy Commission reports that production of CA's gas blend fell 11% in January from the previous month. In the short run, prices should fall back as these refineries go back to normal production. But experts predict that gasoline prices nationwide could hit $2.50 a gallon nationally this summer.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. Portfolio recently published his eighth book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
Posted Dec 2nd 2008 9:58AM by Douglas McIntyre (RSS feed)
Filed under: Economic Data, Oil, Housing, Recession
Oil is trading around $50 a barrel. Gas prices are about $1.80 and could drop another dime or two. That is a long way from the $4.15 drivers were paying in the summer.
A family of modest means, making perhaps $35,000 a year, might have a mortgage of $500 a month. After taxes, the family's real income is probably less than $2,200 a month. Father and mother both drive to work: round-trip, 20 miles each, every day. The difference between $4.15 gas and $1.60 could be as much as $500 a month if each of them use about 100 gallons of gas a month.
Welcome to the lower gas price economy. For people who use home heating oil the difference is even more profound.
OPEC's plan to keep oil prices where they are could go a long way to saving the U.S. economy. The family that spends $500 a month less on gas has an easier time making mortgage payments and is less likely to slip into default or foreclosure. That family might even have a little money to spend on holiday gifts.
The next time you run into an OPEC minister on the street, shake his hand and thank him.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Posted Oct 7th 2008 5:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Good news, Consumer Experience, Middle East, Economic Data, Commodities, Oil, Recession, Financial Crisis

It seems like there is always something to worry about these days. Over the summer, the economy was showing signs of what was to come, but the main concern on most of our minds was not the overall economy. Instead, we were worried about the $4 gasoline that we were pumping into our cars.
Now, the tables have turned, and all we are thinking about is the crashing economy. But at least we can take a little pleasure out of the fact that
gas is falling, and should continue to drop.
It wasn't that long ago that we were feeling the full brunt of record high gasoline prices. It was July 17, in fact, when the national average hit its peak of $4.114 a gallon. While prices are still running at historically high levels, they have come well off their summer highs, and are currently sitting at an average of $3.48 a gallon nationwide for regular unleaded. A pretty nice pullback, to say the least.
Continue reading If nothing else, gasoline prices are falling!
Posted Sep 17th 2008 2:00PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Middle East, Economic Data, Commodities, Oil

Oil prices have been moving higher today, but have dropped a bit following this week's inventory report that showed mixed signals for oil and gasoline inventories. Oil inventories
fell more than expected last week, but gasoline supplies saw a drop that was slightly lower than analysts had been expecting to see.
Going into today's inventory report from the Department of Energy, analysts had been expecting a drop of inventories of 3.7 million barrels, but the actual report showed that last week inventories fell by 6.3 million barrels. This is a pretty hefty drop of 2.1% for the week. Gasoline inventories also fell last week, but the drop was a little less than analyst estimates of 3.6 million barrels, with an actual decline of 3.3 million barrels.
One reason why prices have come back a bit is that analysts had believed that the gasoline report would be more bullish since the report covered the week after hurricane Gustave, and leading into Ike when a lot of production facilities were either shut in completely, or at least working a reduced rate. The report indicated that refineries were operating at 77.4% last week, which was slightly below the 77.8% that analysts had been predicting.
Continue reading Oil inventories drop more than expected
Next Page >