$3.22 for regular in MIchigan? Why? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

HuskyMan · #1 09-16-2010, 08:41 AM

once upon a time, I worked for a major oil company and was in charge of some financial reports. just raising gas a dime meant billions upon billions in extra revenue for them. we are talkin' serious six foot high stacks of CASH.

so......it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they use "trigger events" to jack up the price. an oil spill here, a broken pipeline there, a war breaks out, whatever, there is no good reason to jack up the price other than it is great for the oil company's bottom line. the oil guys are always going to have their hands in our pockets. squeezing us for all we've got (and then some).

aklim · #2 09-17-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

once upon a time, I worked for a major oil company and was in charge of some financial reports. just raising gas a dime meant billions upon billions in extra revenue for them. we are talkin' serious six foot high stacks of CASH.

so......it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they use "trigger events" to jack up the price. an oil spill here, a broken pipeline there, a war breaks out, whatever, there is no good reason to jack up the price other than it is great for the oil company's bottom line. the oil guys are always going to have their hands in our pockets. squeezing us for all we've got (and then some).

While a price raise means more money, how would they actually convince the buyer to do that? I'm just curious. Can they simply slap on a higher price or does it get traded in some other fashion?

BobK · #3 09-17-2010, 02:44 PM

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100917/BIZ01/309170028/Repaired-pipeline-lower-gas-prices-

HuskyMan · #4 09-17-2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

While a price raise means more money, how would they actually convince the buyer to do that? I'm just curious. Can they simply slap on a higher price or does it get traded in some other fashion?

there always has to be a 'crisis'. the Gulf War in 1991 created an 'oil shortage', thus the oil companies raised gas prices. my job was preparing reports that were sent to the government that backed up the oil companies claim that there really was a shortage and thus, the need to raise prices.

also, in case you haven't noticed, every gasoline outlet's prices in a particular area is within a nickel or two of each other. gasoline is a highly controlled market and nobody is allowed to substantially lower (fifty cents or more) under anyone else.

aklim · #5 09-17-2010, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

there always has to be a 'crisis'. the Gulf War in 1991 created an 'oil shortage', thus the oil companies raised gas prices. my job was preparing reports that were sent to the government that backed up the oil companies claim that there really was a shortage and thus, the need to raise prices.

also, in case you haven't noticed, every gasoline outlet's prices in a particular area is within a nickel or two of each other. gasoline is a highly controlled market and nobody is allowed to substantially lower (fifty cents or more) under anyone else.

Let me rephrase. Can the oil company simply change the price at will or is it sold in "futures"?

Is that a law? I'm not sure that it is. Look at diesel. The price can be 15 cents difference.