What is your take on the oil companies and pricing? I know the future's market drives the price. Is the world getting snookered? I think so....
In Febuary, crude was down to the low $50's, yesterday, the price of crude closed at over $64 a barrel (down a dollar or so).
In January, wholesale gas prices were in the low $1.30's, yesterday wholesale gas closed a tad over $2.00. In Colorado, fed and state gas taxes at the pump are ~40 cents. The percentage of profit stays the same in each step of the chain regardless of prices (of course higher prices means more profit for everybody--well, except for the transporters, they charge a set price).
The wholesale cost means there will still be costs and profit for the distributers to pick it up at the refinery, store it, and transport it to the retail stores and the costs and profit at the retail level. Here in Colorado, the price is running $2.55-$2.75. Some refineries may charge less, some more, but that leaves roughly 15-35 cents to work with between refinery and the pump.
The price of crude oil drives the cost at the pump for the most part.
What really ticks me off is natural gas and even coal prices follow crude prices--and there ain't no conection between them........From late 2004 till summer of 2006, natural gas prices went from ~$6/1000CuFt to over $14, and by this winter was down to ~$6 again. Now it's at $7.5 and rising.
Casey
