Has anyone been paying any attention to the price of oil? Yesterday, the price for a barrel of oil (55 gallons or about 160 liters) was briefly below $8. That’s CHEAP, friends. I doubt we’ve seen prices that low since Jimmy Carter was President. Of course, it needs time to be refined and has to be transported a few times, and all the governments need their taxes, so we won’t see it that low at the local pump any time soon, but still… Who could’ve guessed oil demand would drop so drastically while the supply increased?
The price of oil doesn’t just impact gas, diesel, and jet fuel. It’s the source of almost all lubricants and plastics, and is a key source of many ingredients for medications, too.
One of my friends lives in Wisconsin. He says the lowest pump price in his immediate area is .99 per gallon–but, if he drives about 20 miles, there’s a station selling it for .89 per gallon. Obviously, local taxes will have a big impact, too. Here in Massachusetts, the cheapest price I can find is $1.93 about a mile away–the lowest price I’ve seen in at least 10 years. This will impact everyone.
What are the pump prices in your area? I wish I had a way to store a few thousand gallons.
These are futures prices - the shortest duration futures contract (May) settled in negative territory for the 1st time in history (-$37.63). However, this is only due to physical delivery logistics (no one wants to take additional delivery right now). If you look at the following months contracts, they are still in the mid $20’s. Basically, the price was an aberration due to logistics and the mechanics of how the financial instrument trades.
Still, oil supply was outpacing demand before the worldwide shutdown. Now people are drowning in it. Its not even possible to shut in much of the production without significant longer term repercussions. I think this is one of the biggest issues the virus has caused with the worldwide economy and these effects will be felt for a long time after things reopen.
In the Peoples Republic Of Maryland, we are seeing regular at about $1.95
I think he was talking about the spot price, my brokers price is about $12 right now the low was $8.26 about an hour ago, wonder what the cause is? Russia and the Saudis flexing their muscles again? time to watch for shorts in stocks again…
Good catch - I didn’t look at spot prices. That being said, the June futures have now slipped to $8.50 as well. It seems to be the combination of global demand destruction for a prolonged period of time and the inability/unwillingness to reduce supply. No one has ever seen global demand decrease this much for this long and it doesn’t look like demand will pick up to pre-virus levels for months. The supply side is a combination of regional powers having a spat and the fact that there is only so much supply you can cut back on. Oil wells are not like water faucets - you can’t just turn the knob off when you don’t want any.
Good point, I’d never thought about whether the pumps could be turned off or not. Strange days we are living in, being a part of all these historic global events makes you wonder what else is to come.
With no TV or smart phone imagine my surprise when I went to get gas for my SUV and various barn equipment and it was 98…yes 98 cents a gallon. So many benefits to living in the Upper Peninsula. I do have a storage tank…I had them deliver 100 gallons. Now…if I could only find rice…
You should try to earn a living and support a family in the “oil patch”. 10’s of thousands have lost their jobs. The lowest price down here is 1.44 lowest in 10 years. Unfortunately a lot of people can not afford the low gas when they have a decision to make about food, roof over your head and utilities.
Someone in the true Northern California (Crescent City) bought gas for under $2.00–or else they said they bought it in California but probably did what most of us do: bip across the border into Oregon where it’s waaaay cheaper always than California gas.
Yeah, I buy Chevron. It’s 20 or 30 cents more than gas at the stop and go. The price isn’t so much, it’s the nearly $1 in state gas tax the gubner rips us off for. In any case, my monthly gas card bill dropped from $200ish to $60. (and I expect this month to be more like $40ish). Don’t need a lot of gas to drive to the den and play online poker.
Wow, under $2.00 - must’ve been in Oregon. Found one yesterday that finally dipped under $3.00 a gallon for the cheap stuff and it usually isn’t that much cheaper in CC, lol.
Been about $1.20 to $1.30 near me for weeks. A few places under $1.10 not too far from me now. I’m definitely not old enough to remember pre-1980 prices, but I think most of us here remember around 1997 or 98 when it was really cheap. I got 86 octane @ 67¢ per gallon, which filled a 22 gallon tank for $8-something all said and done after other promotions. Then, I proceeded to burn it with exuberant driving up in the hills all day… which is what I’ve been starting to do again now…
Good times.
I have about (350) 5lb bags in stock at my store, but beans have been extremely tough to come by. Perhaps some trading is in order? At least it’ll be cheap to transport. Hah.
