Print

[zard0z]

Price hikes for consumer goods are slow to go away, analysts say.  Hikes are still going strong even when rationale for the higher prices is gone.  Consumer prices were flat last month even as oil prices plunged below $70.  Prices still could drop if companies want to lure customers from competitors...In other words it's just greed fueling the price hikes...


http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/19/sticky.prices.ap/index.html

[A Reasonable Person]

I spent 65 bucks putting 30 gallons of E85 ethanol in my F-150 last week at the Kroger on Suder Ave in Toledo.  It was the first tank of E85 I've put in the truck. 
$2.16 a gallon was pretty nice.
The month prior I put 32 gallons of regular gasoline in my truck and spent $3.65 a gallon.

Hope these gas prices keep falling.  Having the extra money is nice.  Just hope the government doesn't take that extra savings from me and "spread it around".  haha

[the nosh]

filled up yesterday in toledo...had to pre-pay which i hate but gave em 30 big ones...and just like mcdonalds i had money coming back.

[Frenchfry]

I spent 65 bucks putting 30 gallons of E85 ethanol in my F-150 last week at the Kroger on Suder Ave in Toledo.  It was the first tank of E85 I've put in the truck. 
$2.16 a gallon was pretty nice.
The month prior I put 32 gallons of regular gasoline in my truck and spent $3.65 a gallon.

Hope these gas prices keep falling.  Having the extra money is nice.  Just hope the government doesn't take that extra savings from me and "spread it around".  haha

You are already enjoying the fruits of that “spreading around”…..E85 is government subsidized.

E85 provides less energy than gasoline and consequently less MPG.
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/alternativefuels/articles/120863/article.html


But on a positive note:

Reduces smog forming pollutants by 25%
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 35% to 40%
Increased vehicular horsepower by 5%
http://www.smm.org/buzz/buzz_tags/e85

[A Reasonable Person]

You are already enjoying the fruits of that “spreading around”…..E85 is government subsidized.

E85 provides less energy than gasoline and consequently less MPG.
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/alternativefuels/articles/120863/article.html


But on a positive note:

Reduces smog forming pollutants by 25%
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 35% to 40%
Increased vehicular horsepower by 5%
http://www.smm.org/buzz/buzz_tags/e85

Maybe so but for every tank of E85 i put in the truck thats money staying in the country rather than being set over seas.  I'm not advocating E85 is the end all be all of our future energy concerns but i think it is a start.

I'm liking the idea of cars that run on natrual gas.  Then having a hook up right in my garage to fill up at home.  That would be pretty neat.

[lordfly]

Price hikes for consumer goods are slow to go away, analysts say.  Hikes are still going strong even when rationale for the higher prices is gone.  Consumer prices were flat last month even as oil prices plunged below $70.  Prices still could drop if companies want to lure customers from competitors...In other words it's just greed fueling the price hikes...


http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/19/sticky.prices.ap/index.html

Or, it's a delayed supply chain.

Something made of plastic on the shelf at your local store might have been made six months ago. Not everything was produced yesterday.

[zard0z]

I'm liking the idea of cars that run on natrual gas.  Then having a hook up right in my garage to fill up at home.  That would be pretty neat.

I like the idea of using natural gas too, but with rising cost, it doesn't seem the best alternative we could go with.

[zard0z]

Or, it's a delayed supply chain.

Something made of plastic on the shelf at your local store might have been made six months ago. Not everything was produced yesterday.

Anything to come up with an excuse, right...?


Here's the problem I have with it...The price hikes happen relatively over night, yet the when the root cause of the price hikes(cost of oil) drops we have a this lag in consumer price dropping...I don't care about excuses, I think it's wrong for the consumer to pay for an imaginary loss in profit. We paid more for the same products no matter what and I think that's B/S...!

[Greg Chamberlain]

Gasoline prices go up very easily and are hard to bring down. Gas stations do not make a lot of money by selling gas. They make their money by selling pop, snacks, and lottery tickets. The gas is to get the customer into the store. Thus, a gas station that has run out of gas is a station that isn't going to get people into the door to buy the stuff that makes them money. That is why when the station across the street raises their price, this gas station must likewise do so or else the increased demand will cause them to run out.

[zard0z]

Gasoline prices go up very easily and are hard to bring down. Gas stations do not make a lot of money by selling gas. They make their money by selling pop, snacks, and lottery tickets. The gas is to get the customer into the store. Thus, a gas station that has run out of gas is a station that isn't going to get people into the door to buy the stuff that makes them money. That is why when the station across the street raises their price, this gas station must likewise do so or else the increased demand will cause them to run out.

Well, I'm not talking about gas stations, I'm talking about the products in the grocery store...Those prices are controlled by the producer, not the store...If the cost to get the item to the store is less, shouldn't the price to buy said item be less also...It would be in a fair economic society, but that's a fantasy as far as we are concerned.

[Greg Chamberlain]

Well, I'm not talking about gas stations, I'm talking about the products in the grocery store...Those prices are controlled by the producer, not the store...If the cost to get the item to the store is less, shouldn't the price to buy said item be less also...It would be in a fair economic society, but that's a fantasy as far as we are concerned.

What's this "fairness" you speak of?

[zard0z]

What's this "fairness" you speak of?

That's my point, no one knows because we live in a society that favors the rich and privileged...LOL

[lordfly]

Anything to come up with an excuse, right...?


Here's the problem I have with it...The price hikes happen relatively over night, yet the when the root cause of the price hikes(cost of oil) drops we have a this lag in consumer price dropping...I don't care about excuses, I think it's wrong for the consumer to pay for an imaginary loss in profit. We paid more for the same products no matter what and I think that's B/S...!

Yes, knowing economics is a huge throbbing excuse.

Gas station owners don't make jack for profit. Maybe a penny a gallon. They have no control over the gas prices. What you might perceive as gas prices going up "overnight" might instead be something that happened 90 days ago when oil contract futures shot up, or when a hurricane knocked out the infrastructure down south, or when there was a refinery fire in Saudi Arabia.

[ameliabelle1]

E85 has some energy trade offs as well.  I am an engineer and work with alternative fuel, its an exciting time to be involved in the industry.

[Greg Chamberlain]

Continuing on Lordfly's very insightful post in #12, another reason prices go up immediately after a disaster is because future supplies are expected to be limited, thus the current supply needs to be conserved. By increasing the price, the gas stations are reducing the demand and thus ensuring their survival through the supply disruption.