Gasoline Prices In Central Michigan Rose Past The $3 Per Gallon Mark

[Purveyor]

Source: Morning Sun

Gasoline prices in central Michigan rose past the $3 per gallon mark Friday night.

Regional price leader Speedway posted prices of $3.099 a gallon 291 of its 293 Michigan stores Friday night or Saturday morning. Competitors were expected to follow along Saturday.

The higher prices appeared in Mt. Pleasant Friday night; by Saturday morning, Speedway had posted similar prices at all its company-owned outlets. One store in Ann Arbor posted a price of $3.079; another in Howell as at $3.089.

The last time prices were above $3 in central Michigan was October 2008.

A cascade of factors combined this week to push retail gasoline prices to their highest level in more than two years.

The price of crude oil jumped more than $5 a barrel this week, driven by a dollar that continued to weaken as the Federal Reserve pumped about $600 billion into the economy. A small fire at a Citgo refinery in Lemont, Ill., combined with scheduled maintenance shutdowns at refineries in Detroit and Toledo, drove the wholesale price of gasoline up at least 12 cents this week.

Read more: http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2010/11/06/business/doc4cd45f70eed79482557382.txt

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Monday I filled up at $2.74 a gallon. This mornings price is indeed $3.09

[unhappycamper]

1. I paid $3.09 on I-95 in Maine coming home this Thursday.

The price of gas is gonna go in one direction.

[countrydad58]

9. It has been over $3.00

here in upstate NY. for a month now. food prices going up too! Im on SS disability & no increase on the horizon!

[Andy823]

2. Thank the republicans

No no regulations at all now that they hold control of the house, and oil and gas will continue to go up. Those who bought and paid for their win on Tuesday are now getting a return for their money, and id didn't take very long!

[Psephos]

7. Try the Fed.

Oil is priced in dollars, and under the rubric of quantitative easing they're printing money by the hundred billion and shoving it into the economy. More money, same goods = price inflation.

Look for similar increases in many commodities and foodstuffs.

[WestSeattle2]

16. Exactly. $4 per gallon by next June, if not before. However, the

government's inflation data is as deceptive and meaningless as their unemployment data. Most of the inflationary effect of QEII will never be acknowledged by the government.

[sarcasmo]

29. Exactly, this has nothing to do with party it has everything to do with the Fed printing money.

Which will cause hyper inflation.

[Merlot]

3. I've been paying 3.50 for the last few months.

[elocs]

4. Gas prices have been at or near $2.82 for weeks here in La Crosse, WI.

Just in case maybe I'll go fill up now since I'm almost empty from the gas I bought when I left Chicago 2 weeks ago.

[CountAllVotes]

5. $3.39 regular unleaded

here in not so sunny California!

[Goldstein1984]

6. Alaskans are paying $3.40 a gallon, and have been for year

And the stuff is pumped, piped and refined right here.

According to the capitalist wisdom of our oil refiners, we should pay whatever it would cost us to buy it from West Coast refineries and transport it to Alaska by tanker/barge. "Free trade" from an industry that receives massive subsidies in the form of military force to make the world safe for multinational oil companies.

There will never be a healthy economy and cheap oil at the same time again. It's a global commodity, demand will increase with an improved global economy, and the cost will rise. We're fighting for "democracy and human rights" in the Middle East because TPTB know that oil is going to be the balancing force in economic health for decades to come. Thus, the subtle shift from rhetoric about defense and freedom to justification based on "vital national interests."

Worst case scenario: The economies of the EU, India and China will improve while the US economy lags, driving oil demand and prices up for Americans without jobs.

[countrydad58]

10. Yes

but dont you guys get a yearly check from the production?

[Goldstein1984]

12. The Permanent Fund Dividend

It's based on our state constitutional requirement that natural resources must be developed for the benefit of all citizens. A surprisingly socialist perspective for a red state. We don't go after other resource-extractive industries the way we go after Big Oil because they don't have the deep pockets. For example, the guiding industry brings in out-of-state hunters while giving very little to the state economy.

But that dividend check doesn't begin to cover the additional cost of living here. When I returned to Alaska from a brief adventure in the Midwest, my salary increased by 29%, but my cost of living increased by 65%. When we were in the Midwest, we marveled at how much spare income our frugal lifestyle afforded us, while it had been a necessity while living in Alaska. The PFD check has a tiny effect when the difference in energy costs, especially in rural areas, is considered.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. And isn't it funny how your car breaks down

or your furnace goes on the fritz right after the PFD arrives? It's like some kind of cosmic joke that gets played on us every year.

[Goldstein1984]

19. And winter clothes for the kids, and...

topping of the heating oil tank before winter.

To me, it seems to be a model socialist program. In fact, promoting the general welfare is supposed to be a constititional agenda.

Funny how avarice corrupts everything.

[ProudDad]

8. It appears that there are many of you who haven't heard of "Peak Oil" yet...

We've already passed the peak. Prices will rise as oil is harder to come by and India and China become more ruthless competitors (fueled in no small part by U.S. consumer dollars! How's that for irony?)...

And the cosmic joke is that if we burn it all we shall render the Earth uninhabitable...

Here's more information:

"Some hold that our sustainability problem started when we first started planting crops and domesticating animals 10,000 years ago. This thesis says if we had stuck with hunting and gathering as a race we would have been able to sustain our act indefinitely, but then we would never have had enough surplus energy to learn reading & writing, and to build cities, the Internet and space ships. Our immediate problem, however, started in earnest with the industrial revolution about 200 years ago when we first started digging up prodigious quantities of coal and feeding it into steam engines. It wasn't long before we struck oil and the rest is history. The world's population went from an estimated 5 or 10 million when we first started farming, to a billion when we started serious coal digging, to about 7 billion today. We also got incredibly richer in terms of material goods and could sure get around much faster.

"In retrospect it was an incredible couple of centuries, with some, but not all, aspects of civilization reaching new highs. Mankind's greatest omission during this period was the failure to use our newfound sources of energy and knowledge to make all these wonderful benefits sustainable. We simply dug the coal, pumped the oil, and contaminated the atmosphere as fast as economically feasible. Now these golden centuries are drawing to a close."

http://www.postcarbon.org/article/172698-the-peak-oil-crisis-the-leading


The Competitiveness of Local Living Economies

"Economic localization offers the key to solving a growing number of global problems, including peak oil, climate disruption, and financial meltdowns. Yet the perception remains that this solution is very costly, because local goods and services supposedly are more expensive than their global alternatives. American consumers are convinced that "big-box" stores and bigger businesses mean lower prices--"always," in the Wal-Mart vernacular. And not a few localization activists concur, arguing that consumers should nevertheless be prepared to pay more to responsibly avert the calamities of a carbon-dependent world."

http://www.postcarbon.org/Reader/PCReader-Shuman-Economy.pdf <-- 1.95 MB



And, of course, the seminal work: The Long Emergency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Emergency

[dkofos]

13. Pretty sure most people here have heard of peak oil. Also pretty sure that

is not the cause of the latest price spike.

More likely caused by the FED handing out money to
needy bankers, so they can speculate in the commodities markets.
Keep an eye on the price of food because it will also be going up.

So much for the recovery.

[social_critic]

24. Recovery is real

The world economy is recovering nicely. Worldwide, GDP growth exceeds 4%. The "valley" experienced in 2008 has been overcome, and the world economy is now about the same size as it was in early 2008.

As the economy has recovered, demand has trended up. Commodity prices are rising, this includes oil and of course food. Long term, this is a good thing. As oil prices go up, demand will be curbed, and CO2 emissions will be lower. Biofuels will be more competitive, and vehicles will be more fuel efficient as hybrids and light weight become the norm. As food prices increase, farmers will be encouraged to plant more. This will increase their income, and pull population back to the country and small towns. Life will be better overall, and more sustainable.

So when you see high gasoline prices, be philosophical about it, and next time you buy a car, buy as small and fuel efficient as you can.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Well here's the prices in Europe.

http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/fuel_prices_europe.html

One of your gallons is 3.785 litres as opposed to 4.55 for an Imperial - I'll let you do the maths.

Looks like Holland is the dearest for petrol but not so for diesel.

Not sure what the US$ : Euro is at present but using as an alternative £'s from todays prices in the UK at #1.16 / litre for petrol it works back to US$ 6.76 / US gallon.

btw - the latest 3 cylinder VW diesel engine does 80 to an Imperial gallon.

[countrydad58]

15. Yes

But they have a much better social net,better public transportation. & their country is not huge or spreadout like USA.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. But the difference is

that yours is taxed about $1.91/gallon where here, on average, it's taxed at about 46 cents/gallon - meaning the price differential between the continents is tax-related as opposed to the non-taxed cost per volume translated to the consumer. You can do that math on that one!

[dipsydoodle]

26. I'm aware of that

but ultimately you may well have to deal with the rate of tax on yours being increased towards our levels - they've plenty of scope to do so.

btw - you under estimated the tax on fuel here in Europe.

:hi:

[denem]

17. Driven by the weak Dollar

Way to go.

[dipsydoodle]

20. The weaker dollar

will cause oil prices to rise world wide as the suppliers reprice upwards to compensate.

[denem]

22. Causes oil prices to rise in $US around the world.

In UK/Europe/Australia whose currencies have appreciated 25% against the dollar, not so much.

[Puppyjive]

18. Oregon $2.99 a gallon

Gas has been at 2.99 for the last 6 months, if not a year. Gas prices were instrumental in the recession, but you never hear about that anymore. It's no wonder people are so broke. We are paying double for gas, but our wages have not followed suit.

[countrydad58]

23. Exactly!

In my opinion high energy costs was the major cause of the economic collapse.

[liberal N proud]

25. Well, The republicans are back in charge

Even though they only control one house and the Supreme Court, they control Washington at this point.

And we can use rhetoric as well as they, can't we?

[Synicus Maximus]

27. I paid $2.65 in Alabama Thursday and saw it at $2.55 at a few places.

[laylah]

28. We are surprised...

why? :shrug:

Jenn