[Tanada]

$1.74/gallon at Costco in Toledo today!

[Outcast_Searcher]

Outcast - I consider the national average rather meaningless. There are very big differences between local retail markets, sources of crude oil and individual refinery dynamics. Averaging all those factors makes comparing it to local prices rather pointless IMHO.

The national average is what it is. You're right that it is rather pointless for comparing things locally.

OTOH, it's far from meaningless. It's an overall indication of the cost to consumers across the country, and the cheaper it is, the less strain on peoples' budgets. So comparing the national average cost over time is a meaningful factor for the US economy. It also weeds out local noise due to things like local/state tax changes, regional distribution changes, local transportation issues, etc. so, IMO, it's a more useful number for looking at the overall economy.

It also has a very high correlation to the WTI price over time. A nice thing about a major average is many local minor factors (both bullish and bearish) tend to cancel out, making the overall signal less noisy.

[vtsnowedin]

2/15/2019 Upstate New York $2.29/gallon.

[Outcast_Searcher]

2/15/2019 Upstate New York $2.29/gallon.

Similar here in certral KY lately, between about $2.05 and $2.29 in recent weeks.

[Tanada]

Gasoline in Toledo is $2.65 and up now, and we are still a bit shy of 'summer driving season'. This makes me suspect we will hit $3.00/gallon before long.

[Tanada]

Retail price of regular gasoline in the United States from 1990 to 2018 (in U.S. dollars per gallon)

U.S. dollars per gallon

2018 $2.72
2016 $2.14
2014 $3.36
2012 $3.62
2010 $2.78
2008 $3.25
2006 $2.57
2004 $1.85
2002 $1.35
2000 $1.48
1998 $1.03
1996 $1.20
1994 $1.08
1992 $1.09
1990 $1.30

LINK

[Revi]

It's around $2.80 here in Maine. It's going to be an expensive summer. I hope it isn't hard on a state that relies on tourism, and most of it is in cars. We'll see...

[Outcast_Searcher]

It's around $2.80 here in Maine. It's going to be an expensive summer. I hope it isn't hard on a state that relies on tourism, and most of it is in cars. We'll see...

Why is it that after the economy did just fine overall, both globally and nationally, with WTI prices averaging nearly $100 in mid 2010 to mid 2014, that people are so worried about WTI being in the ballpark of $65 now?

I get it that the ETP clown is always worried. I'm talking about people who think rationally.

The fleet mileage keeps improving. $2.80 (it's about that here in central KY now too) isn't cheap, but neither is it close to ruinous for the first world middle class. And of course, it wasn't a big deal roughly a dollar higher at times in 2010 - 2014.

And it's not like if the price DID get over $5 and persisted there that people couldn't massively turn to HEV's which are now getting FAR better in the current generation, and at almost no premium, given gasoline savings over a decade. Or at $5 plus, providing significant gasoline SAVINGS over a decade, for the average US driver.

We really should have learned around here by now to distinguish minor inconvenience and a significant problem.

[EdwinSm]

OS. You are right in that the rises in price have not be spectacular. But I think it has less to do with the overall cost of gasoline/petrol, and more to do with what the price is related to the discretionary spending in any one family. If there is a squeeze on the family purses then a small rise in the cost of road trip might be a large rise in relation to the discretionary spending of the family.

When I first joined the forum I thought that oil prices could go up and up, but soon learned that one should look at the total cost of energy in an economy and that if it rose above a certain point then the brakes were slammed on. Similarly, within families the price should not be taken in isolation. For holidays it relates to the amount left after housing, food, education, health costs, loan interest etc have been taken into account - so a small rise in gasoline prices could have a major effect.

- - - - - - -
Remember the origin of the word "economy" relates to family or household finances." Late 15th century (in the sense ‘management of material resources’): from French économie, or via Latin from Greek oikonomia ‘household management’, based on oikos ‘house’ + nemein ‘manage’. "

[careinke]

Regular is running around $3.40/Gal in Washington, but we have the second highest gas tax in the country. Surprisingly I'm seeing diesel now lower than Regular at about $3.24/Gal.