You’ll never see $70 oil again.

[SC Maintenance]

And it goes both ways so in the end it evens out. There are times when the gas in the underground tank at the station was bought at a higher price but they have to sell it for less because all of the other stations around them have dropped their prices

Not as much though because there is always a lag on the way back down. When some event like this one happens (or a hurricane) they immediately jack prices literally to the hour. But when the hurricane stays offshore it takes weeks or months to revert back. Ask anyone that lives in a hurricane zone.

 

[Patman]

Not as much though because there is always a lag on the way back down. When some event like this one happens (or a hurricane) they immediately jack prices literally to the hour. But when the hurricane stays offshore it takes weeks or months to revert back. Ask anyone that lives in a hurricane zone.

There isn’t always a lag on the way down though. At least not in my area. I have seen prices drop from one day to the next by as much as 13 cents per liter so that’s like 35 cents a gallon drop

 

[SC Maintenance]

There isn’t always a lag on the way down though. At least not in my area. I have seen prices drop from one day to the next by as much as 13 cents per liter so that’s like 35 cents a gallon drop

Has definately not been my experience. For example this thread.

Maybe Canadians are more reputable

Z

Thread 'Gas jumped 64 cents a gallon.... Total rip off!'

Oct 21, 2025

I bought gas last week for 2.65 a gallon in mid Michigan. It is now 3.29 a gallon. I would always see 30-40 cent jumps which I think are still ridiculous. But this is by far the most outrageous jump. Why???

• ZZman
• Replies: 133
• Forum: General and Off Topic

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[UncleDave]

And it goes both ways so in the end it evens out. There are times when the gas in the underground tank at the station was bought at a higher price but they have to sell it for less because all of the other stations around them have dropped their prices

Yup.

 

[Zee09]

I'm close to 4 states and noticed something interesting. The cheapest stations in peace time are now more expensive than the forever high stations... A bit weird...

 

[69GTX]

Physical Oil Price went through a very rugged descent from $150 in summer 2008 to around $13-$15 in the March 2020 crash ($-35 on the futures price). And we're in a commodities up cycle this entire decade as energy, food, metals, etc will be under lots of pressure. Oil will probably head well into the $200's before the next 7 yrs is up. It surely won't be a steady rise. Oil has very strong support in the $55-$65 range. Going below that, even in a recession doesn't seem likely.

https://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=CL&p=m

 

[Burt]

I'm close to 4 states and noticed something interesting. The cheapest stations in peace time are now more expensive than the forever high stations...

They were buying short term surplus from the refineries, now that the surplus is gone they’re not getting the discount and have to sell at a premium to conserve inventory.

 

[cptbarkey]

Today I tried to fill up and the pump didn’t cooperate, “please see cashier.” I didn’t bother and left. Then later saw several social media reports in my area that if you want gas, you have to go in and let them put a $100+ hold before they will let you pump.

 

[MaximumMini]

I remember reading somewhere about 65-70% of a stations profit was from in store convenience sales where the real margins are. Maybe with fluctuating barrel prices this is changing.

In the last few months I noticed that my 5 gallon fuel containers were mysteriously taking 5.6 gallons to fill. This was at WaWa.
I called the Dept of Agriculture to ask if that was either odd or normal (barometric pressure related/ temperature related etc).
They told me it didn't sound right and that it only took ONE call in to initiate an investigation.
After looking, the agent told me no one else had called. WTH?

The NEXT DAY when I rode through Wawa I actually saw a Dept of Agriculture vehicle in the lot.
A few days later, magically, I filled my 5 gallon gas container and lo and behold, it took EXACTLY 5 Gallons to the full mark.

I wonder if pumping 5 gallons but charging for 5.6 gallons over several hundred thousand gallons would change the "margins"
Ever filled your tank and that 20 gallon tank held more than that? Should be rare. I have no clue how a gas station owner could change that? Maybe it was just a mechanical error in the stations favor?

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Not as much though because there is always a lag on the way back down. When some event like this one happens (or a hurricane) they immediately jack prices literally to the hour. But when the hurricane stays offshore it takes weeks or months to revert back. Ask anyone that lives in a hurricane zone.

I know lots of people who can back up your comments about the immediate jumps and the slow as molasses drops....

 

[Elmo Howe]

In the last few months I noticed that my 5 gallon fuel containers were mysteriously taking 5.6 gallons to fill. This was at WaWa.
I called the Dept of Agriculture to ask if that was either odd or normal (barometric pressure related/ temperature related etc).
They told me it didn't sound right and that it only took ONE call in to initiate an investigation.
After looking, the agent told me no one else had called. WTH?

The NEXT DAY when I rode through Wawa I actually saw a Dept of Agriculture vehicle in the lot.
A few days later, magically, I filled my 5 gallon gas container and lo and behold, it took EXACTLY 5 Gallons to the full mark.

I wonder if pumping 5 gallons but charging for 5.6 gallons over several hundred thousand gallons would change the "margins"
Ever filled your tank and that 20 gallon tank held more than that? Should be rare. I have no clue how a gas station owner could change that? Maybe it was just a mechanical error in the stations favor?

Sounds like the owners of that place, probably the " investment firm " of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe, used the " Madoff method " of calibration on those pumps. IJS.......

 

[rijndael]

 

[4wd]

I’ll go out on a limb and counter the idea that “ things will get back to normal”. The US oil industry will not go back and drill for $70 oil. Harold Hamm set the tone when Continental stopped drilling for $60 oil in North Dakota earlier this year.

I will say I was wrong if it goes back, but let’s see.

One difference is that integrated oil companies have way more obligations attached to flow streams … Look how many years IOC’s produced for fixed margins if it was light and sweet and they needed that - or how NG goes to their own petrochemical complexes and making more things than ever - such as NG also making plastics etc … composite rebar has potential etc …

 

[Number_35]

Yup! People constantly compare nominal oil prices across decades like those dollars are interchangeable. They are not. $50 oil in 2000 is roughly $90 to $95 oil today, so when people say “oil was only $50 back then,” they are usually ignoring inflation and comparing apples to oranges. Historical oil prices make a lot more sense once you convert them into today’s dollars.

People do the same thing with gas prices. They remember paying $1.50 a gallon in 2002 and act like that would still be $1.50 in today’s money, but $1.50 in 2002 is about $2.60 today after inflation using CPI. So a lot of the “gas used to be so cheap” nostalgia is really just people comparing old nominal prices to current dollars like purchasing power never changed.

I miss the C$0.55/(Imperial) gallon I paid for gasoline in 1974, but not the $1.90/hr I earned at my part-time job.

 

[JohnnyG]

Something had to be done to increase the price of crude, there are investments to be made in Venezuela and $60.00/ wasn't going to cut it.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Something had to be done to increase the price of crude, there are investments to be made in Venezuela and $60.00/ wasn't going to cut it.

Its not just oil price limiting drilling - its interest rates. The shale revolution happened in a period of very cheap money.

Venezuala is a completely different animal. Chevron lost there but last time. I would imagine someone would have to lay out some pretty big guarantees - like the USG - in order to entice anyone to invest there now. More likely Venezuela would need to pay up front and someone like Halliburton does the work / Venezuela still owns it. Much like in Russia pre Ukraine war.

$70 and low interest rates would be enough to entice drilling in US shale, but we don't have low interest rates.

These are futures contracts from the CME for today. WTI contracts out in later 2027 were trading below $70 today. They were $65 out in 2028. The folks that do this for a living clearly think $70 is in the cards. https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.settlements.html

 

[Arc]

We all basically pay the price to replace whats in the underground tank at any given time regardless of what was paid when it was filled prior.

I dont like it, it feels like a ripoff, in some ways it is, but you can start a fuel business and be the first guy to buck the trend.

The problem is that you can't buck the trend from what I've been told. If you don't keep prices in line with everyone else you will pay more than everyone else on your next delivery.

 

[Arc]

And it goes both ways so in the end it evens out. There are times when the gas in the underground tank at the station was bought at a higher price but they have to sell it for less because all of the other stations around them have dropped their prices

That would be rare to see and not something that happens unless it's a gas station out in the boonies away from everyone else. The prices go up fast but come down slow enough for everyone in a given area to deplete their fuel. I'm not personally involved with the fuel industry just passing on what was told to me over the years from owners and others in the business. It is a very controlled way of doing business. If oil dropped to $50 a barrel today we wouldn't see fuel prices change in the morning.

 

[UncleDave]

The problem is that you can't buck the trend from what I've been told. If you don't keep prices in line with everyone else you will pay more than everyone else on your next delivery.

Oh you can buck the trend, you'll just be out of pocket the difference.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Rechecked number. It’s 553.

Total rigs drilling this week is 543, down 10. Irrational exuberance has not come our way yet. Anyone selling for spot prices is doing well. Those who are hedged are eating hedge losses.