gasoline prices went UP this week in northern California....

[mike_c]

Haven't I been hearing that petroleum prices are going down, and there's a gas glut in the U.S.? Or am I mistaken?

Anyway, gasoline prices ROSE again last week in my northern California community: regular unleaded is $4.599 at most local stations. Up from $4.499 where it had been pegged for the last month or so. Groan....

[FarLeftFist]

1. Wow. Here in NY it's at about $3.60/gallon. Even cheaper upstate.

[TBF]

2. Wonder what caused that? Are they cleaning refineries out there or something

I paid $2.88/gallon here in Houston this Sunday. The price was $3.48 for the lowest grade at Kroger and I had rewards for .60 off per gallon.

[Warpy]

3. Haven't there been a couple of refinery fires on the west coast lately?

Prices here in NM have been going down a few cents a week, not nearly reflecting the drop in spot market crude prices.

Either they're diddling the refined products spot market or those refinery fires were serious.

[mike_c]

5. I don't know....

None that I've heard of, but I've been pretty buried lately, so I just don't know. Didn't find anything with a quick Google search other than a Sunoco fire in Philadelphia, but that's obviously not it.

[Andy823]

9. One in Washington state

That was earlier this spring, supposed to have been back up last week but didn't make it, then I read that 4 refineries in California all shut down for maintenance so they "HAD" to raise the price of gas out west. I know it affects California, Oregon and Washington, not sure if any other states are affected.

I live in Washington and where I live, central Washington, the prices only went down one time, then back up last week. Seems like even when oil prices go down, they have found other ways to keep prices at the pump high so they can rake in record profits, again, before the election.

[Warpy]

11. Thanks! I'd only half heard about it

but I knew several refineries had also been closed down for maintenance.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. Up & down here in SLC...

3.75, 3.65, 3.50 - all over the place! But they're definitely lower than they were a month or so ago.

[hack89]

6. It is the annual switch to summer blend gas

it spikes in California every spring.

[oneshooter]

7. Just filled up with regular grade Shell Here in Texas

$3.41 a gallon. Used the Kroger card points and got it for $3.31 a gallon.

Oneshooter

[Greywing]

8. Can you say Memorial Day weekend

and vacations? When it's summer vacation time, prices will go up in areas that people want to visit. I expect prices to go up in Denver and the entire state of Colorado shortly. It happens every year and gas companies get away with it ....... grrrrrr

[LiberalFighter]

10. down 20 a week ago up 20 late last week back down 20 today.

Expect it to go lower with Memorial Day weekend.

[Cleita]

12. Yikes. It's up to $4.30 a gal here in San Luis Obispo County.

There is cheaper gas in Lompoc ($4.11) a gallon, but I wonder if I would save driving the forty-three miles and back to fill my tank.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Same here in Alaska.

Our gas has gone up from about $4.19 a couple of weeks ago to $4.39 now.

How ironic that the oil is HERE. They've sent several full tankers back to Valdez within the past month.

[econoclast]

14. Like real estate...it's all about location!

Despite the fact that we talk about global oil prices, it's not really a global market. In the US things are divided into 5 PADDs

PADD = petroleum administration for defense district

This organization is a holdover fromWW2

California Oregon Washington Alaska (Nevada?). Are in PADD 5. You can google pipeline maps for petroleum pipelines and quickly see that there aren't many going from the Gulf Coast where most of the refineries are to PADD 5

Canadian oil supplies - which have driven down the "global" price is hard to refine. Most of the refineries that can do it are in the Gulf states. There is good distribution from there to the Midwest ... But not so much to PADD 5. So gas prices in the Midwest are relatively low. But since there isn't easy distribution from there to the West Coast, that increase in supply/ decline in price doesn't easily translate to the West Coast.

Couple that with the fact that CA law requires special blends, the supply opportunities are limited. That and CA has a hefty gas tax.

Like I said ... All about location!