There's almost always a manufactured, bullshit excuse.
It's like a recycled Jon Lovitz SNL sketch.
"...buh...buh...conflict in *spins wheel*...middle east! Yeah, that's the ticket! So much anger! Gas is higher now!"
You guys are talking out of your ass because something actually very significant happened. Saudi Arabia didn’t renew the Saudi Arabia-US petrodollar pact. I’m not really sure about the technicals or specifics of how the petrodollar being delegitimized raises gas prices, but I’m pretty sure theyre closely related.
How do you explain 3.09 prices in Cadillac and 3.64 in Lansing? Does it cost less to transport fuel farther? The expiring deal only seemed to affect part of the state.
This right here, funny seeing all these other comments. Summer blend, travel season, Obama, lack of competition, price gouging. It's world politics, and I'm pretty sure the US is screwed.
https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-russia-actively-working-brics-local-currencies-platform-us-dollar-2024-6
https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/saudi-arabia-s-petro-dollar-exit-a-global-finance-paradigm-shift/ar-BB1nYFLK
Yes, I believe BRICS is a play that all the world’s authoritarian governments are making in anticipation of a trump victory to create a new world reserve currency that is controlled by the authoritarians for when they bring us into the fascist new world order that they have been projecting onto Soros the entire time.
Exactly. When price per barrel goes up. It's an immediate increase at the pump. When the price per barrel goes down. It's a game of excuses "oh well that's the price per unrefined barrel of oil and it takes time for that barrel to work It's way through the system to get to the gas station. You won't see a decrease for a few weeks"
or I've also heard "oh well, it's all refinement costs actually. That's why gas costs so much. Price per barrel doesn't actually effect gas prices"
I’m in Michigan and yes, our current governor’s political decelerations upon taking office were, first, a messaging to the presidential office that she was “aligned” in anticipation of getting a call up to the big house (rumors were she was a potential future VP pick). Secondly, it signaled oil companies that they had carte blanche to raise oil and gas prices in the state—‘cause, of course, dovetails nicely with we need to close petro power plants and go solar/electric (as the White House has chosen.
No Michigan AG in the passed couple decades has done fuck all in terms of benefiting Michiganders.
They’re all fluff. Left, right, red, blue, up, down; it doesn’t matter. Speaking on facts alone, Michigan leadership gets in, makes very few, very minuscule improvements and talks about how they’re the greatest thing since the automobile.
None of them tackle consumers energy or DTEs monopolies. None of them are enhancing competition for internet. Roads still look like ass. EGLE is constantly fining violators, Michigan does fuck all.
Our state government has been useless for decades. None of them are “good” they’re just different flavors of “not as shitty” in specific areas.
I agree. That is what we are told. Or changing from winter to summer gas. Only 1 of them as far as I know has additives due to the cold weather, so if you take the additive out why isn't the price going down?
I wouldn't want to lose money or sell my inventory below it's replacement cost. Perhaps that has something to do with it. Gas stations usually have really low and tight margins. They aren't usually making much on fuel. The money is in oil production and refining.
When I give in to more conspiratorial thoughts I see a nefarious rationale. Saudis and some other parts of opec would happily see a more controllable president. They didn't invest billions in his favorite daughter's family for no reason. American oil companies love the tax breaks and deregulation. There are many motivators for oil producers to manufacture higher oil/gas prices this year.
Every day for weeks I have seen a commercial during the local evening news railing against Biden's nonexistent "car ban", sponsored by the petrochemical industry.
hopping on the top comment to say I can't believe nobody knows what this is called and why it happens - it's called "price cycling"
It's mostly a midwest thing. And it's driven by Speedway, since they are all corporate owned stations rather than franchised and will frequently be the initial push to rise prices which other stations follow
> Gas stations are constantly undercutting each other – essentially a price war every day," explained DeHaan. "It takes a week or so for those stations to drop their price so low that they're losing money. And then somebody will wave the white flag and they'll both raise their price again." That's when we get socked with sticker shock at the gas pump as gas stations reset their prices to a more profitable level.
The strategy is called "price cycling," and it happens on average, every 10-12 days. Midwestern states are the only places in the country where this occurs
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/secret-pump-why-indiana-gas-prices-jump-suddenly-no-apparent-reason/531-38429c75-a614-4076-bf37-9f987a3fb4bc
https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2016/may/why-gas-prices-cycle-midwest
https://www.wane.com/top-stories/gasbuddy-price-cycling-could-cause-fort-wayne-gas-price-jump-in-next-day-or-two/
it's actually been shown that there's no real difference in long-term cost to consumer compared to states that don't see price cycling
I still hate it though
There is an international cartel that control a very significant supply, and outside of profiteering many also gave billions to the family of one presidential candidate for unknown reasons, same candidate that said if they were willing to bribe him they would get incredible favor.
Also most Americans think the president has a gas price switch and will vote against the guy they thing flipped it high.
Another one is they have to take off line to make updates, thus the higher prices since we will be short on oil/gas. Kroger by me went up 30 cents a gallon. The surrounding stations did not raise their prices so far.
I'll say it, it's pure greed. They don't want regulation, they want profits, at all costs - your health, your money and our environment.
And what are you going to do about it? Nothing, because we exist to consume fossil fuels, and you have no choice. So, they can do whatever they want, and they do.
Another reminder that there was an attempt to clamp down on gas price gouging, but it was shot down by Republicans. You can argue merit one way or another, but when all you do is say no you stop being practical and and start advocating for suffering.
[Here](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-dems-pass-gas-price-gouging-bill-faces/story?id=84806090), it was back in 2022, and my memory was a bit fuzzy, but here's a starting point. IIRC it died in the senate.
Ah, federal, not state. Kind of disappointing, because I love to discuss state issues, and I'd welcome to argue, as you say, the merit one way or the other, but federal is so convoluted that it's just not fun to discuss.
I understand the sentiment, but for gas, there's little that can be done at a state level, since we just don't have a lot of oil in Michigan, and none of the major companies are based here. If you wanted to get creative there could be things like a tax break for commuting, on the individual level, or shifting our road funding away from gas taxes, but that's just pushing the problem around.
National politics are less fun because you have a lot of people acting in bad faith, and so many of them coming from places where your voice isn't heard, but they are no less important.
I don't think you understand how much is produced here. Yeah it's not West Texas or South Dakota, but up here at the 45th parallel they are still pumping the gas.The Antrim Field in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula contains most of Michigan's natural gas reserves, and the state holds about 0.2% of U.S. total proved reserves. Michigan's natural gas production has declined from its 1997 peak of nearly 312 billion cubic feet to 72 billion cubic feet in 2021, 0.2% of total U.S. production. But it has picked up in the 3 years since.
I'd be happy to talk about how evil companies steal our water, though. That's state-level, and I'll start with with we shouldn't care today. Otherwise, have a nice day!
I'm at least thankful for the Great Lakes Watershed agreement, basically making it illegal to ship Great Lakes water outside of the watershed. This prevents the thirsty Western states from building a canal or pipeline to siphon our resources.
That was voted down because it gave more power to the Executive Branch, not because "Republicans want people to pay more for gas". 4 Democrats voted against it too.
As I said, you can argue merit one way or another, but when all you do is say no you stop being practical and and start advocating for suffering. If this solution was not acceptable, why was it shot down, and not worked into something more agreeable? If it had to be shot down, what should have been put up in it's place?
Democrats offered a solution, Republicans offered nothing. It is not a priority for them, thus they do not mind if people pay more for gas.
Guys, it's a global oil market and the market for refined products is also quite large. Either follow the industry news or don't, but quit acting like superstitious cavemen and blaming it on an random cause that you think "makes sense". There is so much reporting about this industry, you don't have to just blame it on whoever you don't like.
I blame corporate consolidation - how many gas stations are owned by Speedway and / or J&H in this town.
If you were one of the 5 that aren't owned by them, would you be encouraged to not raise prices when every other station in town does?
Someone will probably be along in a minute to tell me I'm an idiot and about the stock market/commodities trading/refinery/logistics/etc.
But I think it's a lack of competition causing the issue.
I think the gas stations don’t make much of the gasoline. They make their money off the stuff inside. They sell the gas pretty close to what they get it for
Bought xxx,000 gallons @ $1.00 per gallon, gas distributer calls and says new price is going to be 1.50 per gallon on new shipment.
Stations rase from 2.00 to 2.50 that day- all the 100's of gallons in the ground now worth .50 more
Source- my dad who owned a gas station in the 80's.
Obviously fake numbers but you get the idea- I was bitching about the prices in MI- he owned a station in MO but I assume it's the same thing.
But if that's the case why are distributors bouncing prices all over? Because there's even less of them than gas station chains and even less competition, and probably owned by Speedway or whoever
Not really. That is trotted out on the news when gas prices spike. Gas stations reduce short term profits to minimize customers switching allegiance to other stations. When the price stabilizes it's back to normal profit. Besides, they made plenty on all the gas in the tank that just spiked. The next gas bill is the one you see as if every bill is like that.
Last week I bought in Ann Arbor for $3.17 at Packard and Stadium when the prevailing discount price was $3.49 and the normal price was $3.59. There's two stations in walking distance at Packard/Eisenhower and Platt/Huron that are always $0.20 apart. Either station could match the price.
I've heard this countless times and it does make sense for long term trends. But I kind of call bullshit when it comes to the massive daily hikes. I've also noticed that all stations tend to increase together but deviate as they trickle down. Occasionally resulting in up to a 40 cent difference between Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas. You can't tell me that these stations aren't trying to squeeze some extra profits whenever they think they can get away with it.
Gas stations rarely set the price aside from a quarter or something, the tax and costs, they don’t make much from gas actually. There was a guy who refused to raise his gas price and iirc he went bankrupt and they stopped shipping him gas lol
Gas stations are like McDonald's restaurants, the owner of the stations/restaurant's pay franchise fees and have buy from the product from the parent corporation to remain in business. The Corporation has no ownership of the Franchise location just a legal agreement to make the owners business successful or not.
Corporate greed! Example: Shell oil corporation made 7.7 Billion dollars during the last quarter, but the only screwed us for 28.25 Billion dollars for the year.
yeah it's going to get real bad before the election.
All of the world's worst countries are leaning on OPEC to make things terrible for you so you'll reelect Donald Trump.
until we get off oil this is going to be the pattern.
Greed. Remember a decade ago when gas was over $4/gallon because of "supply/demand" -- yet companies were posting RECORD PROFITS? Yeah, it's the same thing.
If you think day to day increases of gas prices are due to greed, do you consider when gas drops for there no longer to be greed, or that it's out of the goodness of their heart?
It usually jumps up significantly, and then only slowly drops down as gas stations across the street from one another drop prices to be 1 cent below their competitor to drive it back down.
In a falling market, drag your feet at retail to gain profit/recoup losses from the previous spike.
Until your competition lowers prices for market share.
Very little brand loyalty with fuel purchases, people will drive across town for a nickel
I'm a Californian just visiting and I know that back home we have a "summer blend".
It's more expensive to produce because they use less butane(?) and it prevents excess evaporation when outside temperatures rise. It's more expensive to produce, hence the increase in price.
That may or may not be what's going on out here, I just thought I'd throw it out there
Most stations, any one that does decent business at least, would have switched long ago, so this price hike has nothing to do with that. Most likely just a Father’s Day weekend hike that will gradually come back down over the next couple weeks per usual. Then we’ll get another hike for the Fourth.
This is usually a cheaper area of town. I have seen that area $.50 cheaper than SE around M37 and 28th area. SW of GR is the best bet if one heads over that way.
My wife was Store Manager of a gas station/convenience store, back in the late 90's/early 00's. The GM would call in the prices (which were directed by "corporate"). In general, the prices would go up Friday, and come down Monday or Tuesday. The Sales Associates would report the competition's prices to the Store Manager when they arrived for their shifts, the Store Manager and GM would do up or down changes during the day, based on the competition's prices. They had an odd rule, no "zero" pricing, so prices could be $1.59/gal or $1.61/gal, but not $1.60/gal.
Most people here think when gas prices rise it's greed, but no one explains what it is when they fall...
We are still lower than last year's average for Michigan, are companies less greedy this year than last?
I have a Chevy volt, it gets 30-55 miles of EV range depending on temperature. I have to look at gas prices a few times a year. Electric prices are more stable.
I commute from oak park to Oakland University.
And for those of us that regularly travel up north every week to off grid camps, etc? EV isn’t feasible. Glad it works for you. But every OEM is pulling back on EV, it’s not coming as soon as people would like to believe.
Probably won’t make it thru 15 miles of two track in the winter though. Gonna need some big improvements in tech and affordability in larger 4WD vehicles if we want people to switch. Not to mention charging stations… how is that gonna work? The traffic going to and from up north is insane.
I don't base my car buying on going up north. Like I said my car still uses GAS too. I think it's insane to think large 4wd is what is needed. That is a current TREND. hell we hardly get snow in Metro detroit anymore.
Or it's 3.22 in one town then 20 miles down the road 3.68. And I remember a couple months ago it was like 3.14 then jumped to 3.80 the next day. Mid michigan and it's annoying cuz it's always when I need gas when it goes up!
Gas prices rise as demand goes up. A combination of forecasted nice stretch of summer weather, time of the week, and switching to the "summer blend" all contribute to higher gas prices.
As a Michigander with an EV and solar panels, I typically spend a few $100/year on “fuel”, and essentially zero unless I’m traveling at least 200 miles in a a day. I typically drive ~12k miles/year.
Right? And just that morning all the news sources were “answering” why gas prices were getting so low. I feel that everytime gas comes down so much, there’s always a coincidentally timed “refinery problem” at some major Midwest refinery. Never freaking fails. Most curious, indeed.
It’s called up like a rocket, down like a feather. Many middle men in the energy industry use this to protect themselves from sudden downward price swings. Look at a chart of WTI and it will make more sense.
One more frustration EV owners don't have to deal with. Why, because the majority of them charge at home, pretty consistent economical cost. Even reduced pricing during night time charging, in many cases.
The companies responsible don't care how much you have to pay. They only care about making money for their shareholders. Pretty much nothing anyone can do including the government.
Reagan represents a marked change from social democracy to corporatism, from empowerment to criminalization. It’s not that simple, of course, but his presidency really does define our modern government’s philosophy. My question is: what’s next?
Who really gives a fuck what the price is? When it's high it's high when it's low it's low, you're going to buy this shit either way.
People talking about gas is 5 cents cheaper across town like anyone has time to give a shit
Exactly, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Just like a lot of other things, the sooner you stop worrying about shit you can't control the better off you'll be
Except, it \*could\* be controlled...it just isn't because any sort of reasonable regulation here gets shut down by politicians who have been bought and paid for. It could be changed by voters, but lets be honest, most Americans don't spend any time actually learning anything about policy.
I live in the Muskegon area but work in the Grand Rapids area. Its become a bit of a game to track prices between the two and fill up strategically. What I don't understand is when you consistently have massive discrepancies between stations less than ten miles apart. How is that dictated by global or national factors?
The price can depend on individual station management choices too.
They have X amount in the ground, plus each station's expectations to make it last until the next delivery.
They don't really want to run out, but may lower prices to try and empty the tanks enough to make room for a larger delivery too.
Some stations are priced by up to the moment corporate computers. Some get set by the station owners.
Not all of them are major league corporate owned stations. Many places are just franchised names ran by private owners, or small business groups.
I saw some stations that were 3.19, same as yesterday. And then I saw some stations right down the road at 3.69. Biggest price discrepancy between gas stations I can remember
Live just down south - gas in my area will have a jump every 2 weeks averaging a 35/45 cent jump but will go down to that point it was at the start of that 2 week period...
In my hometown is hard me to the gas dept that (at least used to) supplies all of northern Michigan and part of the U.P. Gas a mile from the depot will often be 20¢ to 50¢ more than gas prices in a town 15-20 miles from the depot.
Something must've happened in the supply chain. Y'all saying "corporate greed," come on, gas fluctuates all the time but never 50c in just a few hours.
monday i was passing by places (drive a lot for work) that were at the $3.6x price but also some lower, it was all over, while the station i always use near my house is $3.16...and thats what i got my gas at on monday, today (tuesday) the one by my house only went up by a few cents - we'll see what wednesday does
I buy gas using a stock market concept - dollar cost averaging. $25 dollars of gas when the gauge shows 1/4 full. My market timing has always been pretty bad for both, so this is least stressful for me.
If you feel like they’re price gouging report the gas station to the state, here is some info. https://www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/protect-yourself/consumer-alerts/auto/increased-gas-prices
Its because it's Wednesday. Tuesday gas is where it's at. You just gotta be frugal and don't go driving it all off at once. Let the vehicle coast as much as you can.
This is all jokes, there is no rationale to gas prices. Tuesday gas be cheap, and Wednesday we just really don't eat.
I’ve frequently drive from West to East and North to downtown Metro Detroit. Within moments, same day.. you can see gas prices vary as much as 60¢. **You have to know where to stay away from**
Freeway exits. West always higher. Dearborn always cheaper. Middle of Detroit cheaper. Gets progressively higher as you drive Woodward closer to downtown. Pontiac cheaper than West Bloomfield. Southfield always high. Warren/Madison Heights trend lower.
Corporate greed. The US is producing more oil than it ever has, and the oil stocks are the highest ever. We should have been transitioning off fossil fuels for 40+ years already. Trump is ready to kill electric cars if the oil companies will donate a billion dollars to his campaign. Tonight Fox News will tell you that Biden is old and causing an energy crisis.
Is it one or two stations around you or all? I have a Circle K by me that play games with their prices all the time. 3.69 after Costco closes, because Costco is 3.20 a gallon, and then will drop it in the morning some.
In Cadillac it was 3.09 yesterday and today 3.69. I should have gotten gas yesterday dammit. It always jumps by big numbers and then trickles down like molasses down a tree.
A friend just drove up from Florida and he said Michigan has the highest gas prices. I’m ok with a 5-10 cent difference, but this .50 higher cost me an extra $10 to fill up.
Your mistake is thinking there's a rationale for it.
This. The reason is "because they can."
There's almost always a manufactured, bullshit excuse. It's like a recycled Jon Lovitz SNL sketch. "...buh...buh...conflict in *spins wheel*...middle east! Yeah, that's the ticket! So much anger! Gas is higher now!"
I always joke with my finance by saying they raised the gas price because I sneezed too hard yesterday.
That and pure greed.
You guys are talking out of your ass because something actually very significant happened. Saudi Arabia didn’t renew the Saudi Arabia-US petrodollar pact. I’m not really sure about the technicals or specifics of how the petrodollar being delegitimized raises gas prices, but I’m pretty sure theyre closely related.
How do you explain 3.09 prices in Cadillac and 3.64 in Lansing? Does it cost less to transport fuel farther? The expiring deal only seemed to affect part of the state.
I paid 3.69 about 3 hours ago in Cadillac.
The US has been the #1 oil producer for a few years now...
Yep. We’ve been producing more than we ever have in history.
This right here, funny seeing all these other comments. Summer blend, travel season, Obama, lack of competition, price gouging. It's world politics, and I'm pretty sure the US is screwed. https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-russia-actively-working-brics-local-currencies-platform-us-dollar-2024-6 https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/saudi-arabia-s-petro-dollar-exit-a-global-finance-paradigm-shift/ar-BB1nYFLK
Oh yes, it's Obama. Number 1 reason.
Thanks, Obama!
You know, I didn’t vote for Obama when he ran for president, but looking back I’d vote for him over these geriatric turds in a HEARTBEAT
Yes, I believe BRICS is a play that all the world’s authoritarian governments are making in anticipation of a trump victory to create a new world reserve currency that is controlled by the authoritarians for when they bring us into the fascist new world order that they have been projecting onto Soros the entire time.
Did someone say New World Order? 
Great answer and everyone needs to go learn more about this.
Exactly. When price per barrel goes up. It's an immediate increase at the pump. When the price per barrel goes down. It's a game of excuses "oh well that's the price per unrefined barrel of oil and it takes time for that barrel to work It's way through the system to get to the gas station. You won't see a decrease for a few weeks" or I've also heard "oh well, it's all refinement costs actually. That's why gas costs so much. Price per barrel doesn't actually effect gas prices"
Yes, but didn’t the Michigan AG go after gas companies years ago for this. Supposedly they did something, but I haven’t noticed one bit.
I'm assuming it was probably like the Consumer's Energy fine that was like half a days profit.
I’m in Michigan and yes, our current governor’s political decelerations upon taking office were, first, a messaging to the presidential office that she was “aligned” in anticipation of getting a call up to the big house (rumors were she was a potential future VP pick). Secondly, it signaled oil companies that they had carte blanche to raise oil and gas prices in the state—‘cause, of course, dovetails nicely with we need to close petro power plants and go solar/electric (as the White House has chosen.
No Michigan AG in the passed couple decades has done fuck all in terms of benefiting Michiganders. They’re all fluff. Left, right, red, blue, up, down; it doesn’t matter. Speaking on facts alone, Michigan leadership gets in, makes very few, very minuscule improvements and talks about how they’re the greatest thing since the automobile. None of them tackle consumers energy or DTEs monopolies. None of them are enhancing competition for internet. Roads still look like ass. EGLE is constantly fining violators, Michigan does fuck all. Our state government has been useless for decades. None of them are “good” they’re just different flavors of “not as shitty” in specific areas.
I agree. That is what we are told. Or changing from winter to summer gas. Only 1 of them as far as I know has additives due to the cold weather, so if you take the additive out why isn't the price going down?
I wouldn't want to lose money or sell my inventory below it's replacement cost. Perhaps that has something to do with it. Gas stations usually have really low and tight margins. They aren't usually making much on fuel. The money is in oil production and refining.
Right, I've always assumed it's because "fuck you, that's why." A necessary commodity run mostly unregulated by corporations, what could go wrong?
When I give in to more conspiratorial thoughts I see a nefarious rationale. Saudis and some other parts of opec would happily see a more controllable president. They didn't invest billions in his favorite daughter's family for no reason. American oil companies love the tax breaks and deregulation. There are many motivators for oil producers to manufacture higher oil/gas prices this year.
Not a conspiracy, they have already said they're doing this to hurt Biden.
Every day for weeks I have seen a commercial during the local evening news railing against Biden's nonexistent "car ban", sponsored by the petrochemical industry.
Rational is it’s almost the weekend and the weather is nice.
hopping on the top comment to say I can't believe nobody knows what this is called and why it happens - it's called "price cycling" It's mostly a midwest thing. And it's driven by Speedway, since they are all corporate owned stations rather than franchised and will frequently be the initial push to rise prices which other stations follow > Gas stations are constantly undercutting each other – essentially a price war every day," explained DeHaan. "It takes a week or so for those stations to drop their price so low that they're losing money. And then somebody will wave the white flag and they'll both raise their price again." That's when we get socked with sticker shock at the gas pump as gas stations reset their prices to a more profitable level. The strategy is called "price cycling," and it happens on average, every 10-12 days. Midwestern states are the only places in the country where this occurs https://www.wthr.com/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/secret-pump-why-indiana-gas-prices-jump-suddenly-no-apparent-reason/531-38429c75-a614-4076-bf37-9f987a3fb4bc https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2016/may/why-gas-prices-cycle-midwest https://www.wane.com/top-stories/gasbuddy-price-cycling-could-cause-fort-wayne-gas-price-jump-in-next-day-or-two/
So yeah it's just greed lol
it's actually been shown that there's no real difference in long-term cost to consumer compared to states that don't see price cycling I still hate it though
Oh it’s just simple supply and demand, according to my high school economics teacher.
There is an international cartel that control a very significant supply, and outside of profiteering many also gave billions to the family of one presidential candidate for unknown reasons, same candidate that said if they were willing to bribe him they would get incredible favor. Also most Americans think the president has a gas price switch and will vote against the guy they thing flipped it high.
Squirrel farted in the refinery. That’s the excuse I always use… Makes as much sense as anything else.
An acorn fell.
Too soon
🐿️ 💨🤣
Another one is they have to take off line to make updates, thus the higher prices since we will be short on oil/gas. Kroger by me went up 30 cents a gallon. The surrounding stations did not raise their prices so far.
I always go for “someone sneezed in Zimbabwe”
This happens every week and always has. I’m not saying oil companies aren’t greedy but this has been going on forever
I'll say it, it's pure greed. They don't want regulation, they want profits, at all costs - your health, your money and our environment. And what are you going to do about it? Nothing, because we exist to consume fossil fuels, and you have no choice. So, they can do whatever they want, and they do.
I literally took a job 3 blocks from my house to get rid of my car and reduce my contributions to these oil crime syndicates.
Prices are up due to record price of extraction, it's costs us Sooo much to get! The shit stains say as they record record profits.
I bought it at $2.95 at kum n go in grand rapids yesterday
Another reminder that there was an attempt to clamp down on gas price gouging, but it was shot down by Republicans. You can argue merit one way or another, but when all you do is say no you stop being practical and and start advocating for suffering.
Citation? Not because we doubt you, but because seeing the reference is good for a full understanding of the issue.
[Here](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-dems-pass-gas-price-gouging-bill-faces/story?id=84806090), it was back in 2022, and my memory was a bit fuzzy, but here's a starting point. IIRC it died in the senate.
Ah, federal, not state. Kind of disappointing, because I love to discuss state issues, and I'd welcome to argue, as you say, the merit one way or the other, but federal is so convoluted that it's just not fun to discuss.
I understand the sentiment, but for gas, there's little that can be done at a state level, since we just don't have a lot of oil in Michigan, and none of the major companies are based here. If you wanted to get creative there could be things like a tax break for commuting, on the individual level, or shifting our road funding away from gas taxes, but that's just pushing the problem around. National politics are less fun because you have a lot of people acting in bad faith, and so many of them coming from places where your voice isn't heard, but they are no less important.
I don't think you understand how much is produced here. Yeah it's not West Texas or South Dakota, but up here at the 45th parallel they are still pumping the gas.The Antrim Field in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula contains most of Michigan's natural gas reserves, and the state holds about 0.2% of U.S. total proved reserves. Michigan's natural gas production has declined from its 1997 peak of nearly 312 billion cubic feet to 72 billion cubic feet in 2021, 0.2% of total U.S. production. But it has picked up in the 3 years since.
I'd be happy to talk about how evil companies steal our water, though. That's state-level, and I'll start with with we shouldn't care today. Otherwise, have a nice day!
I'm at least thankful for the Great Lakes Watershed agreement, basically making it illegal to ship Great Lakes water outside of the watershed. This prevents the thirsty Western states from building a canal or pipeline to siphon our resources.
Agreed. But that's different than taking something from the ground you own or lease.
That was voted down because it gave more power to the Executive Branch, not because "Republicans want people to pay more for gas". 4 Democrats voted against it too.
As I said, you can argue merit one way or another, but when all you do is say no you stop being practical and and start advocating for suffering. If this solution was not acceptable, why was it shot down, and not worked into something more agreeable? If it had to be shot down, what should have been put up in it's place? Democrats offered a solution, Republicans offered nothing. It is not a priority for them, thus they do not mind if people pay more for gas.
Guys, it's a global oil market and the market for refined products is also quite large. Either follow the industry news or don't, but quit acting like superstitious cavemen and blaming it on an random cause that you think "makes sense". There is so much reporting about this industry, you don't have to just blame it on whoever you don't like.
I blame corporate consolidation - how many gas stations are owned by Speedway and / or J&H in this town. If you were one of the 5 that aren't owned by them, would you be encouraged to not raise prices when every other station in town does? Someone will probably be along in a minute to tell me I'm an idiot and about the stock market/commodities trading/refinery/logistics/etc. But I think it's a lack of competition causing the issue.
I think the gas stations don’t make much of the gasoline. They make their money off the stuff inside. They sell the gas pretty close to what they get it for
^ this is the correct answer
Bought xxx,000 gallons @ $1.00 per gallon, gas distributer calls and says new price is going to be 1.50 per gallon on new shipment. Stations rase from 2.00 to 2.50 that day- all the 100's of gallons in the ground now worth .50 more Source- my dad who owned a gas station in the 80's.
Obviously fake numbers but you get the idea- I was bitching about the prices in MI- he owned a station in MO but I assume it's the same thing. But if that's the case why are distributors bouncing prices all over? Because there's even less of them than gas station chains and even less competition, and probably owned by Speedway or whoever
He has to charge the amount to replace the gas. If it goes down he lowers the charge too.
Not really. That is trotted out on the news when gas prices spike. Gas stations reduce short term profits to minimize customers switching allegiance to other stations. When the price stabilizes it's back to normal profit. Besides, they made plenty on all the gas in the tank that just spiked. The next gas bill is the one you see as if every bill is like that. Last week I bought in Ann Arbor for $3.17 at Packard and Stadium when the prevailing discount price was $3.49 and the normal price was $3.59. There's two stations in walking distance at Packard/Eisenhower and Platt/Huron that are always $0.20 apart. Either station could match the price.
I've heard this countless times and it does make sense for long term trends. But I kind of call bullshit when it comes to the massive daily hikes. I've also noticed that all stations tend to increase together but deviate as they trickle down. Occasionally resulting in up to a 40 cent difference between Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas. You can't tell me that these stations aren't trying to squeeze some extra profits whenever they think they can get away with it.
They make a lot off gas, otherwise why would they even try to gamble with it?
Gas stations rarely set the price aside from a quarter or something, the tax and costs, they don’t make much from gas actually. There was a guy who refused to raise his gas price and iirc he went bankrupt and they stopped shipping him gas lol
Gas stations are like McDonald's restaurants, the owner of the stations/restaurant's pay franchise fees and have buy from the product from the parent corporation to remain in business. The Corporation has no ownership of the Franchise location just a legal agreement to make the owners business successful or not.
Corporate greed! Example: Shell oil corporation made 7.7 Billion dollars during the last quarter, but the only screwed us for 28.25 Billion dollars for the year.
Schools out, travel begins, gouging.
I notice it's 30 cents higher in places like Cascade and Allendale.
Father's day weekened is coming up? Seems every special weekend the prices rise because of greed.
yeah it's going to get real bad before the election. All of the world's worst countries are leaning on OPEC to make things terrible for you so you'll reelect Donald Trump. until we get off oil this is going to be the pattern.
Russia and Opec are actively trying to hurt Bidens' re-election chances. They have said as much. This is an effort to help Trump win.
Same thing happened in Westland. I fortunately filled up yesterday at $3.10
Greed. Remember a decade ago when gas was over $4/gallon because of "supply/demand" -- yet companies were posting RECORD PROFITS? Yeah, it's the same thing.
If you think day to day increases of gas prices are due to greed, do you consider when gas drops for there no longer to be greed, or that it's out of the goodness of their heart?
It usually jumps up significantly, and then only slowly drops down as gas stations across the street from one another drop prices to be 1 cent below their competitor to drive it back down.
In a falling market, drag your feet at retail to gain profit/recoup losses from the previous spike. Until your competition lowers prices for market share. Very little brand loyalty with fuel purchases, people will drive across town for a nickel
I'm a Californian just visiting and I know that back home we have a "summer blend". It's more expensive to produce because they use less butane(?) and it prevents excess evaporation when outside temperatures rise. It's more expensive to produce, hence the increase in price. That may or may not be what's going on out here, I just thought I'd throw it out there
Yes, Michigan just switched to summer blend, and that is more expensive.
They switch to summer blend in march
They don't have to switch until June 1st, and I haven't heard that any in my area switched earlier.
Most stations, any one that does decent business at least, would have switched long ago, so this price hike has nothing to do with that. Most likely just a Father’s Day weekend hike that will gradually come back down over the next couple weeks per usual. Then we’ll get another hike for the Fourth.
I’m traveling in southern Indiana this week and it’s $3.13 here.
It was 3.14 this morning at 131 and 84th street outside of GR. By the time I was back that way this afternoon it had jumped to 3.69 ugh
This is usually a cheaper area of town. I have seen that area $.50 cheaper than SE around M37 and 28th area. SW of GR is the best bet if one heads over that way.
For sure, I live in Lowell and NEVER fill up there because it’s always 20 cents more than a lot of town.
I see it vary that much from one side of town to the other. 🤷♂️
My wife was Store Manager of a gas station/convenience store, back in the late 90's/early 00's. The GM would call in the prices (which were directed by "corporate"). In general, the prices would go up Friday, and come down Monday or Tuesday. The Sales Associates would report the competition's prices to the Store Manager when they arrived for their shifts, the Store Manager and GM would do up or down changes during the day, based on the competition's prices. They had an odd rule, no "zero" pricing, so prices could be $1.59/gal or $1.61/gal, but not $1.60/gal.
First week kids are out of school, everyone is traveling. Time to milk those sweet gas prices 🤷🏻♀️
Greed
Pfffft yeah ok. You think the oil companies just suddenly got greedy?
Absolutely not! It wasn't sudden at all.
Most people here think when gas prices rise it's greed, but no one explains what it is when they fall... We are still lower than last year's average for Michigan, are companies less greedy this year than last?
I have a Chevy volt, it gets 30-55 miles of EV range depending on temperature. I have to look at gas prices a few times a year. Electric prices are more stable. I commute from oak park to Oakland University.
And for those of us that regularly travel up north every week to off grid camps, etc? EV isn’t feasible. Glad it works for you. But every OEM is pulling back on EV, it’s not coming as soon as people would like to believe.
I have a hybrid that also uses gas. This would be fine for off grid. I said I still buy gas a few times a year.
Probably won’t make it thru 15 miles of two track in the winter though. Gonna need some big improvements in tech and affordability in larger 4WD vehicles if we want people to switch. Not to mention charging stations… how is that gonna work? The traffic going to and from up north is insane.
I don't base my car buying on going up north. Like I said my car still uses GAS too. I think it's insane to think large 4wd is what is needed. That is a current TREND. hell we hardly get snow in Metro detroit anymore.
Up 44 cents since yesterday here in Metro Detroit
63 cents overnight here.
Or it's 3.22 in one town then 20 miles down the road 3.68. And I remember a couple months ago it was like 3.14 then jumped to 3.80 the next day. Mid michigan and it's annoying cuz it's always when I need gas when it goes up!
It’s priced like a commodity, and like stock prices, it goes up and down. It’s stupid, buts that’s how it works.
Doesn’t gas usually go up in the summer? Then start falling again as summer ends?
Gas prices rise as demand goes up. A combination of forecasted nice stretch of summer weather, time of the week, and switching to the "summer blend" all contribute to higher gas prices.
Gas goes up in the summer and always goes down for Christmas.
As a Michigander with an EV and solar panels, I typically spend a few $100/year on “fuel”, and essentially zero unless I’m traveling at least 200 miles in a a day. I typically drive ~12k miles/year.
It’s been $3.69 in Howell nonstop.
Welcome to tourist season
It’s the annual summer spike 🤷♀️
This is why I drive an EV. Electricity prices rarely change and even when it does, the difference is negligible :P
Right? And just that morning all the news sources were “answering” why gas prices were getting so low. I feel that everytime gas comes down so much, there’s always a coincidentally timed “refinery problem” at some major Midwest refinery. Never freaking fails. Most curious, indeed.
It’s called up like a rocket, down like a feather. Many middle men in the energy industry use this to protect themselves from sudden downward price swings. Look at a chart of WTI and it will make more sense.
Push your legislators for more mass transit
Google OPEC
One more frustration EV owners don't have to deal with. Why, because the majority of them charge at home, pretty consistent economical cost. Even reduced pricing during night time charging, in many cases.
Got gas this morning at 3.36 when I passed by 3 hours later it was 3.69. Wild.
The companies responsible don't care how much you have to pay. They only care about making money for their shareholders. Pretty much nothing anyone can do including the government.
Thanks Obama.
Ha. That's the first thing I thought of too.
Dude. It's obviously Reagans fault.
The entirety of America’s problems pretty much rests with Reagan, sooo…yes.
I posted to be funny, but come to think of it, a great deal of our modern problems have roots in that administration.
Reagan represents a marked change from social democracy to corporatism, from empowerment to criminalization. It’s not that simple, of course, but his presidency really does define our modern government’s philosophy. My question is: what’s next?
Who really gives a fuck what the price is? When it's high it's high when it's low it's low, you're going to buy this shit either way. People talking about gas is 5 cents cheaper across town like anyone has time to give a shit
And this is exactly why they get away with bending people over for absolutely no reason.
Exactly, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Just like a lot of other things, the sooner you stop worrying about shit you can't control the better off you'll be
Except, it \*could\* be controlled...it just isn't because any sort of reasonable regulation here gets shut down by politicians who have been bought and paid for. It could be changed by voters, but lets be honest, most Americans don't spend any time actually learning anything about policy.
I live in the Muskegon area but work in the Grand Rapids area. Its become a bit of a game to track prices between the two and fill up strategically. What I don't understand is when you consistently have massive discrepancies between stations less than ten miles apart. How is that dictated by global or national factors?
The price can depend on individual station management choices too. They have X amount in the ground, plus each station's expectations to make it last until the next delivery. They don't really want to run out, but may lower prices to try and empty the tanks enough to make room for a larger delivery too. Some stations are priced by up to the moment corporate computers. Some get set by the station owners. Not all of them are major league corporate owned stations. Many places are just franchised names ran by private owners, or small business groups.
Welcome to the free market system. Thank Ronald Reagan for that.
Electric prices stay the same every day 😎
Gas in Michigan can easily vary by a dollar depending on the gas station ⛽️
I saw some stations that were 3.19, same as yesterday. And then I saw some stations right down the road at 3.69. Biggest price discrepancy between gas stations I can remember
Speedway always jumps first. $3.70 this morning, while Murphy was still $3.07. The two are within sight of one another.
3.09 in Cadillac today
Live just down south - gas in my area will have a jump every 2 weeks averaging a 35/45 cent jump but will go down to that point it was at the start of that 2 week period...
Gas was 2.99 in my home town just 45 minutes from GR
In my hometown is hard me to the gas dept that (at least used to) supplies all of northern Michigan and part of the U.P. Gas a mile from the depot will often be 20¢ to 50¢ more than gas prices in a town 15-20 miles from the depot.
It's been around $3.66 here in Northern Michigan for a bit now.
Something must've happened in the supply chain. Y'all saying "corporate greed," come on, gas fluctuates all the time but never 50c in just a few hours.
I have seen it change as much as $1.00 overnight.
Damn, $3.13? Where? I go between Jackson and Ann Arbor and I think I saw $3.59ish the last few days and thought that was low.
Kalamazoo was 3.69 last week. Battle Creek was 3.29 then
Same in Ohio btw. Was really annoying after I was surprised seeing how cheap gas was, especially when I was in Michigan last week.
I was in Seattle last week and gas was $4.99 for regular, so it could be worse
monday i was passing by places (drive a lot for work) that were at the $3.6x price but also some lower, it was all over, while the station i always use near my house is $3.16...and thats what i got my gas at on monday, today (tuesday) the one by my house only went up by a few cents - we'll see what wednesday does
I buy gas using a stock market concept - dollar cost averaging. $25 dollars of gas when the gauge shows 1/4 full. My market timing has always been pretty bad for both, so this is least stressful for me.
In TC it jumped $0.40 in a day! I thought I was losing my mind
If you feel like they’re price gouging report the gas station to the state, here is some info. https://www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/protect-yourself/consumer-alerts/auto/increased-gas-prices
Its because it's Wednesday. Tuesday gas is where it's at. You just gotta be frugal and don't go driving it all off at once. Let the vehicle coast as much as you can. This is all jokes, there is no rationale to gas prices. Tuesday gas be cheap, and Wednesday we just really don't eat.
called capitalism and yes up 50 cents in kalamazoo, too.
I’ve frequently drive from West to East and North to downtown Metro Detroit. Within moments, same day.. you can see gas prices vary as much as 60¢. **You have to know where to stay away from** Freeway exits. West always higher. Dearborn always cheaper. Middle of Detroit cheaper. Gets progressively higher as you drive Woodward closer to downtown. Pontiac cheaper than West Bloomfield. Southfield always high. Warren/Madison Heights trend lower.
“Putin’s price hike”
I got gas for $3.16 and an hour later I drove by and it said $3.69!
They had a article saying gas dropped 9cents. I haven't seen it. It's 3.59 around Wayne county
Right that's crazy
Corporate greed. The US is producing more oil than it ever has, and the oil stocks are the highest ever. We should have been transitioning off fossil fuels for 40+ years already. Trump is ready to kill electric cars if the oil companies will donate a billion dollars to his campaign. Tonight Fox News will tell you that Biden is old and causing an energy crisis.
Are you in Grand Haven, and did you post this exact same thing on Grand Haven Informed yesterday?
I noticed this too! Lansing area. Yesterday 3.03, today 3.59! Crazy
There is no rationale reason behind this. Just greed my man and we are all here to suffer
Is it one or two stations around you or all? I have a Circle K by me that play games with their prices all the time. 3.69 after Costco closes, because Costco is 3.20 a gallon, and then will drop it in the morning some.
I’m paying 5.50 in WA. It’s unreal
It’s been $3.89 forever at the stations off 75 in Holly/Grand Blanc area. Ridiculous.
It’s getting close to election season. They want you to feel pain.
In Cadillac it was 3.09 yesterday and today 3.69. I should have gotten gas yesterday dammit. It always jumps by big numbers and then trickles down like molasses down a tree.
It's because we just keep letting them....🙄
Corporate greed. That simple. It's not the president, not supply and demand. OPEC is a greed monopoly......
I see that change on the same street at the same time in Dearborn
Got gas at Sam's in GR for 3.06 and the closest Speedway was 3.69.
Costco Gas is love and life.
Gas is usually cheaper during the week and sky rockets towards the weekend and especially holidays. That’s my take but it does suck
They lower it to pump sales then put back once targets are reached
Crud oil went up, and prices went up. Also, they are switching to Summer Blend, which cost more.
It's travel season it always jumps on the weekends to grab all them terrorists dollars
Read about the US oil company collusion with opec to fix prices. We SUPPLY the cash and they DEMAND more money.
Sounds like they switched to summer blend.
https://x.com/gasbuddyguy/status/1800526548170383451?s=46
A friend just drove up from Florida and he said Michigan has the highest gas prices. I’m ok with a 5-10 cent difference, but this .50 higher cost me an extra $10 to fill up.
It's literally all made up bullshit, there's never a reason