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Thursday 24 February 2011

Petrol/Gas Prices, Part 2

A few days ago I talked briefly about fuel prices and their unerring ascent towards the $1-per-liter landmark.

Here we are, just a few days later, and much to the chagrin of SUV drivers up and down California, we have met (and surpassed) $3.785 per gallon for 87-octane fuel. For the record, 91-octane petrol passed this mark some time ago.

As I passed my local fill-up station today, I was stunned to see that the price for 87 octane had risen dramatically quickly to $3.859 per gallon. This, logically, put the 91 octane at $4.059 per gallon - a price not seen in the US since the petroleum supply in the southern United States was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.

This brings the price of petrol in Southern California up to 102 cents per liter, the very same price I paid for a whole US gallon when I started driving 9 years ago.

We are only in February, roughly four months before the annual spike in gas prices, meaning that the price will only be going up from here.

I think we have all but seen the end of the era in which Americans pay far less for gas than their European counterparts. When broken down per unit of currency, we are now paying almost the same as those in Europe (currency conversions aside).

I'll never forget the day my high school economics teacher told us that we would never see gas for under $2 per gallon again. That was the only bit of truth he told us burnouts during that astonishingly boring semester immediately before my graduation.

19 comments:

  1. Gas 3.10 on the east coast but still crazy!

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  2. gas in edmonton rite now is 114.9 per litre

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  3. The oil companies will rise again ;)

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  4. I agree, it sucks...I guess in the future most of us we'll be driving electric cars :P

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  5. It seems as though you guys have it easy. I'm in Australia and we pay roughly $1.40 per litre for standard gasoline. This is surprising considering that the value of our dollar has almost doubled in the last two years (0.60 to 1.00 compared to US dollar). At one point in 2009 we were paying about $1.80 a litre for standard and over $2.00 for premium.

    I feel that it's silly that our dollar keeps going up and up, but we never see any relief in prices for anything, even for overseas products.

    I guess the rich just keep on gettin' richer.

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  6. In British Columbia I think we're looking at about $1.25/L right now!

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  7. Gas is hideously priced. I hate it, I like going places.

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  8. will they hit 2008 prices this year?

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  9. I hope they don't hit 2008 prices

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  10. yes here its even more expensive...

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  11. It's 3.55- 4.00 in SD right now depending on location.

    The even greater news is that food prices are going to jump as a result of gas costs for food transporters.

    I almost guarantee we will see $5 by summer.

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  12. Simple economics...supply and demand. I don't like it either, but if people are willing to pay $5 a gallon and the station is still making a profit, then economics says that is the fair market value.

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  13. 1.30gbp a LITRE over in england. very expensive

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  14. Funny, how it's exactly the same for me with my highschool teachers. As I get older I come to realise that lots of the stuff they taught me was useless crap, but then there's the occasional small, prophet like thing, that's true.

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  15. the exact same teachers turn around sell the drugs and double their profit

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  16. As expensive as it may be...I need to move out to Cali sometime soon.

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  17. till summer the price will go back again, well thats what i think^^

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