gas prices

[mtsalmela80]

With fuel prices slated to hit an all time record high this spring into summer, are any of you concerned? They may be over $4 a gallon here in NY by the end of this week. I went to work the other day, sign had it at 3.85, on the way home same sign 3.92

[newtogolf]

Speculation is by summer it will be closer to $5 a gallon here in NY.  I'm not concerned for myself, but I know this will have an impact on others and will likely slow down the economy from any type of recovery.

[MiniBlueDragon]

An interesting phenomenon regarding increasing fuel prices:

Ordinarily if you join a golf club the more you can get to the course and play, the better value you get in terms of price per play. For example if a club was £1000 and you could play once per week for the whole year it would equate to £19.23 per round. If you could play twice per week it would cost £9.62 per round and so on.

When researching clubs last year I took into account fuel costs to and from the course too and found that the ideal distance from me was anything less than 6 miles. Any further than that there's a point where the more you play the less value you get per round. If memory serves it was around 3 times per week and any more than that the price per rounds starts to increase.

Average fuel price is currently £1.35 per litre for us.

[newtogolf]

Those of you in the UK have endured high gas prices for a much longer time that we here in the U.S.  Last few trips I made to the UK I was shocked at how expensive gas was, but we're catching up slowly.

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

An interesting phenomenon regarding increasing fuel prices:

Ordinarily if you join a golf club the more you can get to the course and play, the better value you get in terms of price per play. For example if a club was £1000 and you could play once per week for the whole year it would equate to £19.23 per round. If you could play twice per week it would cost £9.62 per round and so on.

When researching clubs last year I took into account fuel costs to and from the course too and found that the ideal distance from me was anything less than 6 miles. Any further than that there's a point where the more you play the less value you get per round. If memory serves it was around 3 times per week and any more than that the price per rounds starts to increase.

[nevets88]

Right now, in the UK, it's about $11 to $12 USD a gallon. Last time I was in the UK, I was paying about $150 per fillup and I rented a small car.

Last I was in Toronto, it was about $6.50, $7 USD a gallon.

[newtogolf]

NY has probably the highest gas prices in the states with maybe the exception of CA.  NJ is about 50 - 75 cents cheaper because of lower state taxes on fuel.  I filled up yesterday and it was $4.90 per gallon on Long Island.

Originally Posted by nevets88

Right now, in the UK, it's about $11 to $12 USD a gallon. Last time I was in the UK, I was paying about $150 per fillup and I rented a small car.

Last I was in Toronto, it was about $6.50, $7 USD a gallon.

[ZAhacker]

Here is South Africa its about 5.8 to the galon *rough calculation* (R10.6 per litre)

With my Double Cab Toyota Hilux 3.0l it costs me about 1 rand per Kilometer, witch insane. My father told me when i was born it was something like 50cents a litre.

They should invent a proper sub for fosil fuel

[RPMPIRE]

The San Francisco Bay Area is already at about $4.25/gallon and still rising each day. I commute about 85 miles a day and unfortunately I don't have any alternatives. Feeling the sting in my wallet already.

[GaijinGolfer]

The thing is though, the price hike is all being driven by speculators who are buying up oil futures in the anticipation that the price of oil will continue to go up.  There is no shortage, its all being manipulated by the speculators so that they can make a profit.

[k-troop]

About $4.25 here in Hawaii and rising.  If it gets over $5...then I guess I'll pay over $5.

[jamo]

I've read that part of the reason is that we (the US) are importing less oil from overseas lately, and the oil from North America tends to be harder to refine, at least for our current infrastructure. Some older refineries (several in the Philly area, from what I read) in the US have been shutting down because they simply can't process the crude oil from North America.

[RPMPIRE]

Also, the US consumes almost all of whatever is produced. I've heard that we export oil, but for some reason I find that hard to believe. The west coast refineries are also having problems producing from what I heard this morning.

Originally Posted by jamo

I've read that part of the reason is that we (the US) are importing less oil from overseas lately, and the oil from North America tends to be harder to refine, at least for our current infrastructure. Some older refineries (several in the Philly area, from what I read) in the US have been shutting down because they simply can't process the crude oil from North America.

[nevets88]

It wasn't that long ago that gas prices spiked in the US, remember? And that was due to speculation. Given the non subsidized prices other nations pay, even back before the previous spike, we should have just assumed gas prices will rise much faster than the rate of inflation and planned accordingly, but there aren't a whole lot of choices if you're very dependent on a car short of moving to a place with mass transit, and even those prices appreciated considerably. And as golfers we are more so affected, I can't think of many places you can get to a course without a car.

[LuciusWooding]

It's an election year; of course the gas prices go up. This happens every time, and funnily enough the prices return to a lower level after the elections... I wonder why that is?

[TourSpoon]

Why is it that in a world-wide recession, gas prices are high keeping the chance of recovery slimmer while oil companies continue to make record profits? I need to work for Exxon.

[x129]

I think it is the other way around. We export gas (refined product) and import oil.

I don't think there is any one reason why gas prices go up. I have heard it is a combo of

1) Speculators have raised the price of oil by ~10-20%

2) Oil production is pretty much maxed out. When demand increases no one has any excess capacity to take advantage of it

3) As a corrally to 2) whenever there is a threat to existing supplies the price spikes

4) Even when there is enough oil, there are refinery constraints

Gas is still cheaper than it was in 2008. We have a long way to go to hit 140/barrel. The uncertainty is the tough part. If oil was staying above 100, oil shale production (or buying a prius) makes sense. If it is going back 50 bucks, it doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by RPMPIRE

Also, the US consumes almost all of whatever is produced. I've heard that we export oil, but for some reason I find that hard to believe. The west coast refineries are also having problems producing from what I heard this morning.

[newtogolf]

Gas prices started to get out of control after many refineries off the coast were damaged from Katrina.  Since then we've seen crude oil prices fluctuate based on unrest in the middle east and speculation.  There was a time when crude oil was priced at or just under $60/barrel and gas prices in NY were under $2.00/gallon, now it seems regards of how low crude oil goes, the price doesn't get reflected at the pump.  The oil companies have figured out that we got used to higher prices at the pump and they all have agreed to make more profits rather than lower the price when crude oil prices drop.

Our government (federal and state) continues to rake in additional revenue at our expense as well.  On top of a fixed cost tax that the federal government and most states tack on, many states also have a gross receipts tax that is based on percentages of the price/gallon.  The higher the cost a gallon of gas the more tax revenue they take in.

Yes speculation is also a problem, but when consumption doesn't drop due to price increases there's no incentive for oil companies or the government to step in to force a price drop.  Relating back to golf, I've seen new driver prices go from $200 - $400 in less than 3 years.  Almost every manufacturer now sells at least one $400 driver and will most likely continue to do so long as we buy them.

[camper6]

I am a Canadian and cannot understand why the XL pipeline extension from Alberta, Canada was denied by Obama after it had previously been approved.

That would have carried oil from the Bakken fields in North Dakota (a domestic supply) as well to the refineries  in the Midwest and all the way to the refineries in Port Arthur Texas. And the construction costs would be entirely born by Trans Canada pipelines.  It wouldn't cost the U.S. anything.

Now that's a source of oil from a stable country instead of the Middle East.  The current price of gas is being affected by threats from Iran.  They are already denying gas to UE countries.  That type of threat sends speculators scurrying to buy oil now expecting a rise in the future.

Incidentally.  The unemployment rate in North Dakota is the lowest in the country.  Something like 3.5 %.

The environmentalists are influencing the current U.S. government and it's an election year so nothing is going to happen till November.