Tag: U.S. Gasoline

Records Everywhere And Not A Drop To Spare

Posted on by Tim Snyder

“The following is an excerpt from Tim Snyder’s “Weekly Quick Facts” newsletter. Tim is an accomplished economist with a deep understanding of applied economics in energy. We encourage you to visit Matador Economics and learn more about Tim. While there, you can sign up for his completely free Daily Energy Briefs and Weekly Quick Facts newsletters.”

As we continue the gasoline discussion from last week, economists are fielding questions, from most of the conservative media, regarding just what needs to happen to change the trajectory of retail fuel prices in the U.S.

Last week, alone, I did 12 radio interviews and gave a lunch address to the Petroleum Engineers Club of Dallas. The subject for each one of those interviews was the same, "How high can prices go" and "How much longer with these record fuel prices hang on"?

To address these two questions, we must look at the remaining conditions, after the pandemic and the Biden administration. They are tight inventories for gasoline and diesel, drive season, and increased demand. I'm not even going to drift off into the fact that the Hurricane Season starts in 15 days.

We started the year at 232.8 million barrels, and As of 5-6-2022, gasoline inventories sat at 225 million barrels. As for the distillate inventories, they began the year at 126.8 million barrels and as of 5-6-2022 stood at 104 million barrels. Continue reading "Records Everywhere And Not A Drop To Spare" →

U.S. Records Another Record For Retail Gasoline

Posted on by Tim Snyder

“The following is an excerpt from Tim Snyder’s “Weekly Quick Facts” newsletter. Tim is an accomplished economist with a deep understanding of applied economics in energy. We encourage you to visit Matador Economics and learn more about Tim. While there, you can sign up for his completely free Daily Energy Briefs and Weekly Quick Facts newsletters.”

Last week’s jump in retail gasoline gives the US another dubious record, the highest average price ever recorded. Diesel is tracking back into record territory, as well. Families and businesses alike across the country feel the pain of these economy-killing prices continuing to spike. In interviews across the US, economists are being asked how much higher can these prices rise. The answer is always sobering.

Gasoline Prices

With no intention of changing the direction the Biden Administration is heading, some are speculating that we may see diesel over $8.00 per gallon and gasoline over $6.00 per gallon by Mid-Summer.

We must remember that this time of year represents planting season for our nation's farmers and graduation for so many of our young folks. It also represents the beginning of the “Drive Season” and a time when families travel for vacation. Continue reading "U.S. Records Another Record For Retail Gasoline" →

2018 U.S. Gasoline Season Outlook

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies - U.S. Gasoline


OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for April featured an article on the summer petroleum products market. It observed that the U.S. is typically the key driver for products markets in the run-up to the summer driving season, and indicators are pointing to a positive and optimistic outlook.

It cites year-over-year January combined gasoline and diesel growth of 845,000 b/d. It states that the weekly data in February and March further supported this positive trend. And it concludes U.S. gasoline and distillates demand will grow by around a combined 992,000 b/d in 2018.

But a closer examination of gasoline demand and consumption estimates provide a different picture. Also, the MOMR totally ignored the supply side of the market, and last summer’s Hurricane Harvey and Mexico’s refinery problems contributed to support that is unlikely to be repeated this summer. Continue reading "2018 U.S. Gasoline Season Outlook" →

Why The U.S. Gasoline Stock Build Was Not Surprising

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gasoline stocks had “surprisingly surged despite heavy driving on the Memorial Day weekend.” But the 3.3 million barrel build was actually not that surprising, given the development of gasoline production capacity and the relative softness of gasoline demand.

Over the past four years, the U.S. refining industry expanded its gasoline production capacity in the United States by almost one million barrels per day. In 2013, production peaked at just below 9.5 million barrels per day. Last year, production peaked at 10.3 million. And this summer production could reach 10.5 million.

Gasoline Production

Gasoline demand growth has lagged. Peak demand in 2013 was just above 9.1 million. Last summer, demand peaked at 9.6 million, an increase of about one-half million.

But in the year-to-date, gasoline demand has been 2.9% lower than over the same weeks in 2016. Retail gasoline prices dropped to low levels in the first quarter of 2016, when crude oil prices were bottoming, and that created a surge in demand that was not repeated in 2017. Continue reading "Why The U.S. Gasoline Stock Build Was Not Surprising" →

The Gasoline Price Risk Factor

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


While the oil market has focused on news about production cuts from OPEC and non-OPEC countries, a new oil price risk has been developing. U.S. gasoline inventories have risen to their highest level.

U.S. Gasoline Inventory

What’s even more unusual is that they have set a record high at the same time as U.S. crude oil inventories. Usually, crude oil stocks rise as product stocks drop, and vice-versa, reflecting swings in refinery utilization, which simultaneously increase the demand for crude and output of petroleum products, and vice-versa. Continue reading "The Gasoline Price Risk Factor" →