Diesel fuel price

JDgreen227 · Aug 17, 2004

While out picking up more deck materials this afternoon, I stopped at my favorite Amoco (BP) fueling station to fill my 6 gallon diesel can. Two weeks ago I paid $1.70.9 per gallon and today the price had gone up to $1.98.9. Have any other TBN members experienced a near 30 cent per gallon increase for diesel fuel recently?

In mid-Michigan diesel has usually been priced 20 to 30 cents per gallon under unleaded regular, but today both products had an identical price at the station I visited. Any comments?

_RaT_ · Aug 17, 2004

Thats nothing. With oil at 45 or 46 dollars a barrel consider that you are getting it under $2 a gallon a blessing. We pay (California) about $2.30 a gallon or more. The rest of the world far more then that. I say, get used to it, the demand for the stuff has yet to go down.

avorancher · Aug 17, 2004

Yup... paid $2.35/gallon yesterday. What irks me is that gas has gone down some but diesel remains high. High octane gas was "only" $2.27 at the same station.

RobertN · Aug 18, 2004

What those guys said /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Come one out to the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia... In Sacramento, I found diesel $2.07-2.30. Up here, $2.29. Regular has dropped under $2.00. Diesel seems to ride at mid-grade gas price level, although a couple years ago it was cheaper than regular for some time.

Libertine · Aug 18, 2004

JDgreen227:

<font color="blue">In mid-Michigan diesel has usually been priced 20 to 30 cents per gallon under unleaded regular, but today both products had an identical price at the station I visited. Any comments?
</font>

When a barrel of crude is distilled, the lighter stuff rises to the top, the heavier stuff stays toward the bottom. While this can be adjusted a little bit, a barrel of crude will produce roughly 20 gallons of gasoline. roughly 12 gallons of heating oil (diesel), and roughly 10 gallons of kerosene/grease/lubricating oils/insecticides. If the demand for diesel is higher (relative to gasoline) gasoline price will fall relative to the heavier diesel (or diesel will seem to go up in price relative to gasoline which is saying the same thing).

The actual cost of a gallon of gasoline is cheap, cheap, cheap. A $20 gold piece would buy you roughly 200 gallons of gasoline during the depression of the 1930s. A $20 gold piece will STILL buy you roughly 200 gallons of gasoline. Quit whinning. It is only because you (the typical American) are so far in debt, and your REAL standard of living (for the average working person) has been going DOWN since the 1960s that it seems expensive. Be happy the United States has occupied the oil fields in Iraq - or it would be worse.

JEH

wroughtn_harv · Aug 18, 2004

Here in Norte Tejas I filled up yesterday, $1.76. In southern Oklahoma I saw it as high as $1.85. Saturday I filled up at Kroger for $1.65.

Lucy got twelve and a half miles per gallon yesterday. I drove a little over two hundred and fifty miles round trip to pick up some two by twelve oak decking for my trailer. It costs about the same as pine at the box store. Actually cheaper and so much tougher.

I've found venturing above sixty five costs a mile or so per gallon. The price of fuel has done what old age couldn't.

goodoleboy · Aug 18, 2004

Honestly I could care less about what gas cost 20 years and how it has never adjusted for inflation properly. Its all history to me, and its the last thing I think about when i shell out money to the clerk at 7-11.
But, I do adjust for changes by driving slower and owning more fuel efficent cars.

JDgreen227 · Aug 18, 2004

"Quit whinning"... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I don't feel I was griping anywhere in my post, I was only making a commentary about a sharp jump in diesel prices. To me, fuel of any type is a relative bargain compared to many items, I recall back in 1977 we were concerned about gas being a dollar a gallon. Back then I was earning $200 per week, when the price finally hit two dollars a gallon I was earning $1000 for the same 40 hours of laboring.

I read someplace recently that when gasoline gets to $2.50 a gallon, we are basically paying the same price per gallon our grandfathers were paying back in 1920, when adjusted for inflation.

BB_TX · Aug 18, 2004

Diesel around here is normally 8 to 12 cents less than regular gasoline. Yesterday I noticed a Shell station prices listing "Premium Diesel" for 8 cents more than regular gas. What in the world is "Premium Diesel"? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif They did not list a price for regular diesel. I did not notice what the diesel price is where I normally buy.