Gas Prices' Earliest-Ever Rise Above $3.50 A Bad Sign For Motorists...

[Remodeling Maidiac]

3.51 here.

Cost me about 40 bucks to do free estimates today.

Sucks

 

[paulitician]

3.51 here.

Cost me about 40 bucks to do free estimates today.

Sucks

Yeah, lets hope it doesn't get much worse. But it's looking like it will.

 

[waltky]

High gas prices not good for Obama either...

Higher Gas Prices Cloud Obama's Re-Election Hopes
February 24, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — Soaring gasoline prices are threatening to undercut President Barack Obama's re-election prospects and offering Republicans an easy target.

With prices pushing $4 a gallon and threatening to go even higher, Obama sought Thursday to confront rising public anxiety and strike back at his GOP critics. "Only in politics do people root for bad news, do they greet bad news so enthusiastically," Obama said of Republicans. "You pay more; they're licking their chops." Obama said dismissively that all the Republicans can talk about is more drilling — "a bumper sticker ... a strategy to get politicians through an election" — when the nation's energy challenges demand much more. In a speech in Miami, he promoted the expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration but also the development of new forms of energy.

For all the political claims, economists say there's not much a president of either party can do about gasoline prices. Certainly not in the short term. But it's clear that people are concerned — a new Associated Press-GfK poll says seven in 10 find the issue deeply important — so it's sure to be a political issue through the summer. "Right now, we're experiencing yet another painful reminder of why developing new energy is so critical to our future," the president said. At an average of $3.58 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1, and experts say they could reach a record $4.25 a gallon by Memorial Day.

Those higher prices could hurt consumer spending and unravel some of the recent improvements in the economy. And they could also be a daily reminder to voters to question Obama's contention that he's making the nation — and them — more secure. While motorists are already starting to complain, many economists see the $4-a-gallon mark as a breaking point above which the economy starts to suffer real pain. Analysts estimate that every one-cent increase is roughly a $1.4 billon drain on the economy.

Obama's Republican challengers aren't letting it all slide by. They have stepped up their attacks on his energy policies, including his rejection last month of a pipeline to carry oil from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. And they're full of promises. "I've developed a program for American energy so no future president will ever bow to a Saudi king again, and so every American can look forward to $2.50-a-gallon gasoline," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in the Wednesday night GOP debate in Mesa, Ariz. He calls his strategy "Drill Here, Drill Now."

MORE

See also:

Gas When Bush Left Office, $1.78 -- Gas Today, $3.64 -- Highest Average Price in Calif., $4.20
February 24, 2012 – The average price for one gallon of unleaded gasoline has increased nearly every month since Barack Obama was inaugurated in January 2009. At that time, when George W. Bush was leaving office, the price was $1.78 per gallon. Today, three years and one month later, the average price is $3.64.

In addition, according to the average price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices (in nominal dollars: not adjusted for inflation) peaked during Bush’s second term at $4.09 per gallon in July 2008 and then fell to $2.15 in November, when there was an election, and fell further in December 2008 to $1.68 per gallon. When Bush entered office in January 2001, the price was $1.47 per gallon. (It peaked in Bush’s first term at $2.02, in October 2004.)

Under President Obama, prices have not fallen below $2.05 per gallon since April 2009, and the highest average price, so far, was $3.93 in May 2011. This week, CBS News reported that a shell station in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., was charging $5.99 per gallon for premium, and another station in Orlando, Fla., was charging $5.79 per gallon for regular unleaded. The average price in Florida is $3.67 for unleaded.

The AAA Web site lists the average regular fuel prices for each of the 50 states, showing California with the highest average at $4.20. The U.S. city average for the price of one gallon of unleaded gasoline, as documented by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- from when Barack Obama was elected in November 2008 to today -- is presented below:

MORE

 

[paulitician]

High gas prices not good for Obama either...

Higher Gas Prices Cloud Obama's Re-Election Hopes
February 24, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — Soaring gasoline prices are threatening to undercut President Barack Obama's re-election prospects and offering Republicans an easy target.

With prices pushing $4 a gallon and threatening to go even higher, Obama sought Thursday to confront rising public anxiety and strike back at his GOP critics. "Only in politics do people root for bad news, do they greet bad news so enthusiastically," Obama said of Republicans. "You pay more; they're licking their chops." Obama said dismissively that all the Republicans can talk about is more drilling — "a bumper sticker ... a strategy to get politicians through an election" — when the nation's energy challenges demand much more. In a speech in Miami, he promoted the expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration but also the development of new forms of energy.

For all the political claims, economists say there's not much a president of either party can do about gasoline prices. Certainly not in the short term. But it's clear that people are concerned — a new Associated Press-GfK poll says seven in 10 find the issue deeply important — so it's sure to be a political issue through the summer. "Right now, we're experiencing yet another painful reminder of why developing new energy is so critical to our future," the president said. At an average of $3.58 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1, and experts say they could reach a record $4.25 a gallon by Memorial Day.

Those higher prices could hurt consumer spending and unravel some of the recent improvements in the economy. And they could also be a daily reminder to voters to question Obama's contention that he's making the nation — and them — more secure. While motorists are already starting to complain, many economists see the $4-a-gallon mark as a breaking point above which the economy starts to suffer real pain. Analysts estimate that every one-cent increase is roughly a $1.4 billon drain on the economy.

Obama's Republican challengers aren't letting it all slide by. They have stepped up their attacks on his energy policies, including his rejection last month of a pipeline to carry oil from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. And they're full of promises. "I've developed a program for American energy so no future president will ever bow to a Saudi king again, and so every American can look forward to $2.50-a-gallon gasoline," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in the Wednesday night GOP debate in Mesa, Ariz. He calls his strategy "Drill Here, Drill Now."

MORE

See also:

Gas When Bush Left Office, $1.78 -- Gas Today, $3.64 -- Highest Average Price in Calif., $4.20
February 24, 2012 – The average price for one gallon of unleaded gasoline has increased nearly every month since Barack Obama was inaugurated in January 2009. At that time, when George W. Bush was leaving office, the price was $1.78 per gallon. Today, three years and one month later, the average price is $3.64.

In addition, according to the average price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices (in nominal dollars: not adjusted for inflation) peaked during Bush’s second term at $4.09 per gallon in July 2008 and then fell to $2.15 in November, when there was an election, and fell further in December 2008 to $1.68 per gallon. When Bush entered office in January 2001, the price was $1.47 per gallon. (It peaked in Bush’s first term at $2.02, in October 2004.)

Under President Obama, prices have not fallen below $2.05 per gallon since April 2009, and the highest average price, so far, was $3.93 in May 2011. This week, CBS News reported that a shell station in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., was charging $5.99 per gallon for premium, and another station in Orlando, Fla., was charging $5.79 per gallon for regular unleaded. The average price in Florida is $3.67 for unleaded.

The AAA Web site lists the average regular fuel prices for each of the 50 states, showing California with the highest average at $4.20. The U.S. city average for the price of one gallon of unleaded gasoline, as documented by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- from when Barack Obama was elected in November 2008 to today -- is presented below:

MORE

Sort of bad for him, but really really bad for average American Citizens.

 

[Intense]

American motorists have seen the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rise above $3.50 a gallon on just three occasions, but it has never happened this early in the year. Analysts say it's likely a sign that pain at the pump will rise to some of the highest levels ever seen later this year.

In 2008, average gasoline prices had hit inflation-adjusted records nationally by the summer, but they didn't climb above $3.50 a gallon across the U.S. that year until April 21, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. It happened again last year, but not until March 6. But $3.50 a gallon gasoline is already here in 2012, weeks before refineries typically shut down for springtime maintenance, and weeks before the states switch from their less expensive winter blends of gasoline to more complicated and pricier summer blends.

"This definitely sets the stage, potentially, for much higher prices later this year," said Brian L. Milne, refined fuels editor for Telvent DTN, a commodity information services firm. "There's a chance that the U.S. average tops $4 a gallon by June, with some parts of the country approaching $5 a gallon."

The average Gas Price at Obama's Inauguration: $1.84 per gallon.

Gas prices are rising fast. - mcall.com
» Average Gas Price at Obama

Yep. The last time gas hit $4.50 in NYC the Economy collapsed. Oh well. Let's just blame private enterprise again.

 

[waltky]

Some relief at the gas pumps as crude oil prices slip...

IHS: Don't panic yet over gas prices
March. 6, 2012 - U.S. consumers paying $5 per gallon at gasoline pumps would be a serious economic setback but it is not a very likely one soon, IHS Inc. economists said.

U.S. consumers paying $5 per gallon at gasoline pumps would be a serious economic setback but it is not a very likely one soon, IHS Inc. economists said. "If there is a serious oil supply disruption in the Middle East and Brent crude prices top $150 a barrel, pushing the national average for gasoline prices to $5 … We would be staring recession in the face. But we are not near that point now," said a report from the economic research firm based in Colorado, formerly known as Information Handling Services.

At a conference in Houston, IHS Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh said there was "nothing inevitable" about the national average price of gasoline reaching $5 per gallon. Media reports that declare it is a foregone conclusion are wrong, he said. CNBC reported Tuesday some areas are already reporting prices near or above $5 per gallon.

In New York City prices for premium gas have topped the $5 mark. Prices are also higher, on average, in Alaska, California and Hawaii, where statewide prices average more than $4 per gallon. Comparatively, prices remain low in other states, such as Wyoming and Colorado where price averages are less than $3.25 per gallon.

Many experts say prices will spike if supplies are disrupted due to economic sanctions imposed on Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons program. Prices at the pump are already escalating quickly, climbing an average of 1 cent a day for the past month. To reach $5 per gallon by Memorial Day, 83 days away, prices would have to climb even quicker than that.

MORE

See also:

Crude oil slips on demand concerns
March. 6, 2012 - Crude oil dropped to under $105 per barrel overnight in New York, as markets adjusted to news that China expected slower economic growth in 2012.

Crude oil dropped to under $105 per barrel overnight in New York, as markets adjusted to news that China expected slower economic growth in 2012.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a televised speech Monday said the government had lowered its target of 8 percent growth for the year to 7.5 percent, which would be the lowest rate for China in 22 years.

April delivery light sweet crude prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost $1.92 to reach $104.71 per barrel. Home heating oil added 0.6 cents to $3.1942 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline gained 0.51 cents to $3.235 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices lost 0.6 cent to $2.35 per million British thermal units. The national average price of unleaded gasoline fell slightly from Monday's $3.767 per gallon to $3.764 per gallon, AAA said.

Read more: Crude oil slips on demand concerns - UPI.com

 

[uscitizen]

Ahh so the GDP is growing. How is that a bad thing?

 

[American Horse]

I think if we gave more tax breaks to oil companies they would hire more people and cut their prices

You do know that the big (and small oil companies) get only the same breaks on taxes that all other corporations do? And if those same tax breaks are taken away from Oil, will they also be taken away from all other corps? And if they do will that lower the price of oil and oil derived products or increase them? Or will new tax law single out oil companies and perhaps risk being a "bill of attainder?"

How much of the price increase is from the weakening dollar, and increased global demand, particularly as measured against a low demand in the US?