Gas prices heading back up

[Imagevision]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

If the past 10 days are any indication, America could be in for another dizzying year at the gas pump.
Gasoline prices nationwide have jumped since the turn of the year, with the nationwide average rising 11 cents per gallon since Monday alone. The national average, tracked by the AAA auto club, hit $1.78 for a gallon of regular on Friday. California's average reached $1.96 and may top $2 this weekend.

In part, it's the result of a brief rally in the market for crude oil, gasoline's main ingredient. At the same time, gas refineries have been cutting production in a bid to reduce supplies and shore up prices. And that infuriates some oil industry critics, who say the refiners are trying to squeeze the market.

"Look at the economy - nothing else is going up in price," said Judy Dugan, research director with the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog. "That's not the case with fuel, and that's because there are so few players - especially in California - controlling the production." - Here in Naples Florida one station went from $1.72 in the morning to $1.85 on my way returning from work - What are you're prices in you're area?

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/10/BU05156M3C.DTL

[Imagevision]

1. Look at the economy - nothing else is going up in price

[Phred42]

2. New Years Eve I paid $1.64 / gal in N. IL

Yesterday I paid $1.99 in N. IL

[Pharaoh]

3. Now that the election is passed

Let us resume in raping and pillaging!

[machI]

11. Now that alternative sources of energy are off everyone's mind, OPEC start jacking the prices again

[rocktivity]

4. Well, duh--now that both the elections and holidays are over

it's time to start piling up things to blame on President Obama.

:eyes:
rocknation

[pampango]

14. Gas prices always bottom in midwinter, then rise through the spring

to a midsummer peak. The annual decline goes through the fall (which led to election conspiracy theories in, at least, 2000, 2004 and 2008) and early winter. Since inaugurations occur in midwinter, it is a pretty safe bet that gas prices will rise after the inauguration and for several months after that. They did in 2001 and 2005, not to mention all the other years, so they probably will again.

[Andy823]

5. Up from $1.78 last week

To $1.89 this week. Friday oil dropped back down to around $40.00 a barrel, but I don't expect prices to go down because of that. The problem in the Middle East has caused most of the speculation that has caused oil to go up, and larger surplus's of crude has caused the price of oil to go down again, but gas prices are another story. I think a lot of the higher prices have to do with getting on last rally in before Bush leaves office. When the price was up around $50.00 it would seem to me that a lot of those speculators could have made a good profit selling at the higher prices! I just hope that Obama and congress can do something to prevent what we had to pay last year from happening again. I don't think they ever passed any tough regulations on speculators because the prices started dropping. If we don't regulate the markets better nothing will change!

[Andy823]

13. Just got back from town

Gas jumped another 7 cents since yesterday and now is $1.96!

[DainBramaged]

6. Went back down to $1.44/ 9 from $1.49/9 high this week by me this morning.

[Psephos]

7. Under 2 bucks and people are bitching???? Give me a break. n/t

[DallasNE]

8. "Nothing Else Is Going UP"?

Where does she live? Prices for everything except housing and cars are going up. Just this month my Condo fees when up 13%. I expected increased deductions for health insurance, etc. to completely wipe out my 2.5% wage increase January 1st. Locally, gas prices bottomed around Thanksgiving at $1.449 and today gas is $1.799.

[Child_Of_Isis]

9. "Look at the economy - nothing else is going up in price,

Actually, I didn't see anything else go down. I thought food prices would drop because everyone blamed it on the cost of getting it to the stores. Didn't happen here.

[No Elephants]

10. Oh, my word! Who could possibly have seen an increase coming?

[Lionel Mandrake]

15. There should be a special bailout for brain-damaged dunces

who recently bought gas guzzlers.

How were they supposed to know that oil supplies are finite?

[No Elephants]

16. In the 1970's, my then husband removed our home's oil burner and replaced it with

it a gas burner. Not bc of the money, but bc he feared that the oil supply could be cut off at any time for political reasons and we'd suffer (Massachusetts). The very next week, it was gas heat that was hard to get. I don't remember why. Life's funny.

[Danmel]

12. I paid $1.89 this morning

for regular on Long Island


The lowest it got here was $1.78, but it's heading back up