Diesel Fuel Prices

Tom Cobb · Diesel Fuel Prices

I don't get it. Gas prices are coming down and diesel prices haven't moved in 2-3 months.

Has anyone noticed this and/or heard anything why this is happening. Something other than speculation.

bth9461

I think it is just the market on gas adjusting down. Diesel stayed stable when gas jumped. This is so far above our pay grade it is pointless to even grip about it. What can be done, you can only deal with it the best that you can. Use less, slow down, and charge more if you can. It is fustrating, but think if the pumps ran dry, then we would really be in trouble. What concerns me more is the price milk and food, I don't know if if all this corn going into our tanks is such a good thing.

Brian

Tom Cobb

They need to take the farms out of the land bank and quit paying the farmers to not plant. There is also a lot of farms that are not being planted because the moms and dads died and the kids don't want to farm it and nobody wants to lease it and the land sits idle waiting for somebody to buy it and use it. Just look at the abandoned farms around the country, especially in the midwest and the panhandle of TX.

Food prices are being impacted but the reason it occurred now in my mind is that the price is finally being pushed up because of diesel prices that are finally being passed on to the customer snd hence to the consumer. Frankly I am surprised it has taken this long.

Nobody complains about diesel prices because they drive gas powered cars. The truckers complain but nobody will listen to them because they continually gripe anyway. That is the publics perception. When have you ever heard on the news any discussion about diesel prices? Never. The lump it into one pile and the effect is different. The average American never considers diesel prices affecting them because they don't think about it since it is not directly affecting them. The American consumer does not correlate that all the things they buy are on the shelf in the local store because a truck brought it there. Much less that that truck burns diesel which is a product made from oil that costs more.

Ask some duffus on the street how his groceries, tv, gasoline, etc got to the place where they bought them. They don't have a clue. It is just by magic.

My rant for now!!!!!

bth9461

If I had the money to farm instead of trucking, I would in a heart beat. Driving around your own land, home every night, eating your own food, Sounds like a good life to me. Plus you get to gripe even more than truckers. Never understood that paying someone to not farm thing though. Think I would not take that deal, just does not seem right.

Brian

Tom Cobb

It was done to keep prices up so farmers wouldn't go broke from over production. That is not the case now.

D. Green

About those diesel prices... grab your wallet.

Tropical storm Erin caused Shell to remove most of their off-shore personnel to safer ground, plus if hurricane Dean continues on it's projected course into the GOM, the off-shore facilities could sustain much damage again.

We have been blessed in the last few months that most of our refineries have been in full production. No one even noticed that the price of a barrel of crude increased to over $70 a barrel... but there was enough refined product in the pipe to keep retail prices down.

And, let's not forget, the annual build up of heating oil for the northerners will begin next month, which will diminish diesel production, causing the yearly fall price increases.

Tom Cobb

There has been some stock market response to the increased oil prices but you are right about gas prices. They have actually been coming down when the oil prices were going up.

I still don't understand why diesel never went down but you are right. They will be headed up soon. I wish I had about a 2K gallon tank somewhere to store some fuel and to start rounding up some cooking oil from restaraunts to make some bio diesel.

I saw an article somewhere this week about a diesel ethanol blend. That surprised me. It is still being tested. I had often wondered if it could be done. I guess we will find out soon.

http://www.transportation.anl.gov...sforum/v3n2/ethanol_additive.html

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/renewable_diesel.html

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9753435-7.html

Tom Cobb

I reckon diesel prices will be headed up real soon. It is hurricane season for sure now. One excuse is good as another.

bth9461

There isn't much we can do, but watch those prices and pass on the increases to the customers by raising our prices, if you can. Keep yourself covered by bidding high for long and midterm quotes. Or qualify your bids with a fuel surcharge. Of course it allways seems that the bottom line takes a hit when fuel goes up fast, while we adjust.

Brian

Tom Cobb

I thought you were on vacation out the boondocks away from all technological stuff???????

bth9461

I am at a resort on Lake Michigan, they have wireless, but my air card is working better. Just trying to keep things going here.

Brian

D. Green

from yahoo news a few minutes ago:
Interesting, because Mexico is our #2 supplier of crude & refined products.

Dean gains as winds slam Mexico, Belize
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago

TULUM, Mexico - Hurricane Dean strengthened into a monstrous Category 5 storm Monday night as its outer bands of wind and rain slammed the coasts of Mexico and Belize. Thousands of tourists fled the beaches of the Mayan Riviera as it roared toward the ancient ruins and modern oil installations of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mexico's state oil company, Petroleos de Mexico, said it was evacuating all of its more than 18,000 offshore workers in the southern Gulf of Mexico, which includes the giant Cantarell oil field. Dozens of historically significant Mayan sites also were emptied.

Dean, which has killed at least 12 people across the Caribbean, quickly picked up strength after brushing Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

By 11 p.m. EDT, Dean had sustained winds of 160 mph and was centered about 150 miles east of Chetumal, where it was projected to make landfall early Tuesday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Chetumal is about 120 miles south of Tulum.

Category 5 storms — capable of catastrophic damage — are extremely rare. Only three have hit the U.S. since record-keeping began.

TGPILOT · Hard times ahead ???

Just announced on the news this morning that we are going to see record high gas prices. It's going up another .15 cents in the next few weeks. No one knows where it's going to cap out. Phill Flynn a fuel anlist expert on MSNBC said that "we could expect to be paying four dollars a gallon by next year and five the year after that"!

Guess this will separate a lot of drivers from their trucks. Going to be rough, everyone needs to plan ahead.

Tom

Tom Cobb

They are telling us the price so that they can raise to that and soften the impact. That is what has been intended all along. All this talk about what europe and other countries has been about jacking the price to that level even though it is not justifiable.

Tom Cobb

I fueled up at Walmart on Wed. and diesel was $2.93 before the discount. That is the highest ever at Walmart. There are places in the DFW area well over $3.00.

I don't understand why Houston and the area between here and even in east TX is cheaper than the DFW area. There is not reason for it.

bth9461

I will be sending all my customers a rate sheet with a fuel surcharge in it. It seems that these prices will only go up, and I am afraid that it will continue to go up FAST in the forseeable futrue. The $4-5 a gallon level seems likely to me.

TGPILOT

Fuel in NM and CO was as high as $3.25 to $3.33 a gal. Some of those places are gouging pretty hard.

Tom

Tom Cobb

I can ALMOST understand the prices in NM and CO because of the transport costs. I can't understand the difference in prices in two of the largest metro areas in the country that are so close together. I think they are close at 275 miles apart and in the same state. In the northeast that is a long ways apart but what do they know!!!

LBZ

I still do not understand the current pricing on fuel? The reports keep talking about buyers traveling less and less fuel being purchased yet the prices continue to climb.

I just read a report dated early Feb. '08 about Diesel seeing a high of around $3.30 and then falling throughout the year & hovering around the high $2 mark. That has already been blown out with fuel at the Luv's truck stop at the 109 exit on I-55 posting $3.72 cash price as of yesterday 3/2/08. Most of the inner city(Springfield) is bouncing from $3.59-$3.65. Though I did find one that is selling at $3.53 just blocks from the $3.65 guys.

What gives??? Evil or Very Mad

Tom Cobb

Price per barrel of oil close near $104 today. The cold weather in the northeast where people can't seem to get away from using heating oil which is the same as diesel fuel creates the supply side problem.

Tree huggers that refuse to allow drilling in AK and off the two coasts cause a supply problem. The arabs that want to cause problems for us raise the price by cutting production. Although I heard today that most of our crude comes from Mexico and Canada and the US. We also get oil from Venezeula and Brazil. We need refineries also.

In my opinion if a state supports not allowing drilling off their coast and builiding of a refinery in their state we should cut off the supply of fuel. I bet that would change their tune.

Liberals ....... I despise the suckers.

bth9461

That world price really drives the price. Mex,Can,Ven get the same prices for the same grade of oil, that others get. So all those things you sited, add up to higher prices. Only more production and refinning will help. More sources of viable sources of power could help also, Nuclear and coal.

Wind (execept on Cape Cod), solar, ethenol, bio diesle, and hybred cars are all bad jokes. They need much more research to have any impact.

Brian

Tom Cobb

Brazil uses ethanol totally. Why can't we get there? They use sugar cane which is better to use than corn. We need to speed up the use of celulosic fibers and switch grass and extraction of diesel and jet fuel from coal and drilling in AK and off our coast.

I heard that Brazil discovered two huge fields off their Atlantic coast. We can't even explore for oil because of the environmental communist treehuggers liberals. Elect the democrats and it will get worse including INCREASING fuel taxes.

bth9461

How much do they need compared to the US? And you are right that the Sugar Cane is more efficient. I think the technology just is not there yet.

I think we should spend more on R&D for improving the Energy situation, but in the short run we must drill.

Brian

Tom Cobb

The technology is there. It is getting the farmers to plant the sugar cane and switch grass. We also need more plants on line. Brazil has been making ethanol for years so that is not an issue. I don't know what the demand difference. We can do it if the motivation is present.

We need to drill is correct. We don't need to replace oil entirely for many years. It is still a viable product and source to be used contrary to what the tree huggers say. We need to drill and use our oil or oil purchased at reasonable prices. Blends of fuel using petroleum and bio and ethanol products can help reduce the price and dependence on foreign oil.

The liberals and tree huggers are cutting our own throats to advance their agendas.

Have you been keeping up with the global cooling news that has been out recently. We are cooling at a faster rate than the so called heating rate was. Cause is sunspot activity like many scientist have been saying all along. It is not what we do but sunspot activity that cause the temp changes.

Guess what....the artic ice is 27 inches thicker that has been recorded in history. Yeah...the extinct polar bears now have ice. By the way the polar bears are a problem in many towns in the artic area..... to many bears.

Oh yeah...Al Gore invented the internet and global warming also.

bth9461

Saw the guy who founded the weather channel on Fox News, say that Gore should be sewed for starting this hoax. He really challenge the whole premiss that CO2's could cause global warming. I have driven in a lot of bad weather this year for sure. You should see all the snow piled up in the Northern states, looks a lot like it did when I was a kid.

Brian

Tom Cobb

A friend in Pagosa Springs, CO said there is more snow this year than they have had in over 15 years. I saw picts on FoxNews that were sent in from Pagosa Springs by a resident showing snow almost to the roof line. They have had record snow in the west also.

Even the French say global warming was a hoax used by scientist to get government money including UN money.

Tom Cobb

Strange weather cycles....we had some light snow showers Monday night and forecast for rain and snow showers for Friday. We haven't had anything like this around here in many years. I have seen ice storms and snow in late March with temps well below freezing but that has not happened in a long while.

Quick....someone call Al Gore and see what is happening...it must be global warming causing the ice in the clouds to melt.

bth9461

Ran into bad weather in IL an IA last two days, very cold wind both days. IA north of 80 has a lot of snow on the ground. The new French Gov't has some good things going for it, I like their new President.

It is a scam by some researchers and some political leaders looking for an issue to keep them in the news. And of course make money, via taxes & carbon credits?

Brian

LBZ

Kool, Now that we all know Al Gore is full of himself...Can we start loosening some turbins to lower these flippin' fuel prices? Wink

bth9461

Nope,

No blood for OIL. We just got to keep the wallet open.

Brian

LBZ

I totally agree on that Brian, but there has to be a reasoning point as the people we are purchasing from are educated and understand economics.

Tom Cobb

The US has oil for many years to come. Problem is liberals and tree huggers. We need a combination of things to for many years. The liberals think we can flip a switch and shutoff oil and have new technology to replace it. They have had their way to damn long and need to be stopped. Their lies have harmed this country and stopped us from being able to get where we need to be.

The answer is not in increasing fuel mileage although that is part of it. The answer is to tell the east and west coast that we are going to drill and also in of the FL coast and to sit down and shutup. Drill in AK and start large scale ops to convert coal to fuel.

The liberals can not prove one event of an oil spill or drilling that had any long term effect including the AK spill by Exxon. I have seen what happens after a spill. It is like a fire....the environment comes back greener than before. I worked at a Strategic Petroleum site once upon a time and have seen what happens when oil is spilled and not cleaned up. Give it a year or so and everything comes back like it was before.

Liberals lie to benefit themselves and not the rest of us. They are communist and socialist and wreak havoc in every country where they have had power and control. We are almost in havoc here.

bth9461

Tom Cobb

I am glad you clarified that. You are correct.

bth9461

Was just being Sarcastic, but the written word some times comes off different than meant.

All of the DO-GOODER policies are costing us a ton of money, and it is going to get even more costly if we don't get some common sense back.

Brian

Tom Cobb

We must get busy on production of many sources of energy.

bth9461

Think these prices might get us going the right direction? I sure hope so.

Brian

Tom Cobb

Everybody needs to start writing their representatives and make it known that we expect them to get moving on alternate fuels and drilling increases.

Tom Cobb

The End of Oil? Breakthrough Turns Coal Into Clean Diesel
Sean Markey for National Geographic News

April 18, 2006
With the price of oil topping a wallet-busting U.S. $70 a barrel yesterday, the search for alternative fuels keeps heating up.

Last week, scientists announced what may be a new end-run around the oil problem: producing diesel fuel from coal, natural gas, and organic material.

Reporting in the current issue of the Journal Science, researchers say they have developed a way to shuffle the carbon atoms derived from cheap fuel sources like coal to form more desirable combinations, such as ethane gas and diesel fuel.

In their study, scientists scrambled the makeup of hydrocarbons—organic compounds found in fossil fuels—using two chemical processes, one of which earned last year's Nobel Prize in chemistry.

The reaction produced ethane gas and diesel fuel.

The synthetic diesel "is much cleaner burning than conventional diesel, even cleaner burning than gasoline," said Rutgers University chemist Alan Goldman.

Goldman co-developed the process with Maurice Brookhart, a chemistry professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"It's a very clever idea," Robert Bergman, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, told Science in an accompanying news report.

"I don't think this will be an industrial process tomorrow. But conceptually, it is important."

Nazi Germany

The technology might one day wring more diesel fuel and ethane gas from hydrocarbon byproducts produced by oil refineries.

But the new chemistry's greatest potential may be as a follow-up to an 80-year-old technology known as Fischer Trospch (FT) synthesis.

Developed by German scientists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch in the 1920s, FT synthesis converts carbon from coal, natural gas, or wood into hydrocarbons, including propane-like gas and diesel fuel.

Nazi Germany used the technique during World War II to manufacture synthetic fuel from coal, churning out 124,000 barrels a day by 1944.

Today oil-poor South Africa uses FT synthesis to distill most of the nation's diesel from its extensive coal deposits.

One downside to the process, however, is the output of so-called mid-size hydrocarbons—molecules with 4 to 8 carbon atoms—which can't be used as fuel.

Hydrocarbons consist of hydrogen and carbon atoms. The number of carbon atoms (anywhere from 1 to, say, 99) determines whether a particular hydrocarbon is a gas, liquid, or solid and whether it's the proper weight to burn as fuel.

Goldman says his new method can convert the otherwise low-value byproducts of the FT process into high-value fuels.

He says, for example, that two mid-size hydrocarbons with six carbon atoms each could be broken up and reassembled into a two-carbon molecule (ethane gas) and a ten-carbon molecule (diesel fuel).

The chemist thinks the breakthrough could deliver U.S. energy independence.

"The United States, for example, has 40 times as much energy in coal than we do in oil, and we have even more than that in oil shale," Goldman said.
"So I think Fischer-Tropsch chemistry is really the key to energy independence for the U.S., China, [and] India."

Key to Energy Independence?

In the U.S. the governors of Pennsylvania and Montana, both coal-rich states, have touted FT technology as a future source of homegrown diesel fuel.

Last September, Pennsylvania governor Edward Rendell said his state's government would buy fuel from a planned FT plant in the state designed to convert waste coal from mining operations into low-sulfur diesel.

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer has expressed even more ambitious plans. He believes Montana's 120 billion tons (109 billion metric tons) of coal could supply the nation's gas, diesel, and jet fuel needs for the next 40 years.

Because FT plants are expensive to build and maintain (an entry-level plant falls in the range of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars), the higher cost of FT synthetic fuels have made them too pricey for U.S. markets in the past.

"When oil was $20 a barrel, it really wasn't considered economical," Goldman, the Rutgers University chemist, said.

But today's high oil prices are now tipping the scales in favor of alternative fuels.

(See National Geographic magazine's "The End of Cheap Oil.")

"Our hope is that what we've discovered will lead to something a little bit more economical [and] efficient," Goldman said.

Environmental Impact

One thorny issue is the net environmental impact of coal-based synthetic fuels.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, FT fuels are cleaner burning than petroleum-derived products, producing fewer particulates and less dangerous nitrogen oxide.

But as FT fuels burn, they also release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, coal-based synthetic fuels may produce twice the greenhouse gas emissions of petroleum-based fuels.

Experts say one alternative may be the use of carbon collectors derived from animal waste, plants, and other organic material, which trap carbon from the atmosphere.
_________________________________________

I want to know why we are not as a nation pushing to get this type of technology in place and us our assets instead of the Arabs.

LBZ

I guess the only people with the resources to pull it off are currently raking in the $$$ from $111 oil?

Tom Cobb

I have decided that the only solution is for the people most hard hit by diesel prices is to start flooding the senator and Represenatives and the news media with mail.

Tell them, since they apparently don't know, how EVERYTHING they use or have was brought to them by a transportation industry powered by diesel fuel and how the price of diesel fuel drives up the costs of everything they use including the price of the their gas. They don't get gas from gas powered trucks but diesel powered trucks.

Every product is moved on a ship, airplane, or truck...all powered by diesel or a dirivitive of it. Farm equipment is powered by diesel to plant the crop that is delivered by a diesel powered truck.

To control prices decrease the price of diesel...to stimulate the economy decrease diesel fuel prices.

All the media talks about is gas prices. They totally ignore diesel prices.

What I said in the previous post above should be pushed into all the media as well. They are uneducated.

bth9461

LBZ you need to post that speculator article. Speculators, we are doing this to ourselves.

Brian

Tom Cobb

They are saying gas prices will be $4.00 a gal by summer but consumption in the US is down and prices are increasing. Some much for supply and demand.

Speculators have almost always been the cause of the increases. The commodity market makes millionaires out of speculators. It was the cause of price increases in the 1800's with flour, etc. on the frontier and it is the cause of prices now for many products.

This is also helped along by India, China, and Russia. Soon they will want the oil in Israel and that region and the Bear will move to get it. See the book of Revelation and Daniel and others.

LBZ

This link was posted by D. Green on another board and I forwarded it to a few non trucking friends and BTH as it is very much worth the read if ya haven't caught it yet.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,538412,00.html

Tom Cobb

This confirms my suspicions from a long while back. We need to start contacting senators and representatives and demand that this be changed.

I have just written to both senators and my representative. I recommend that everyone do so.

Here is what I wrote. Copy and edit to fit you if you desire.
__________________________________________

This link has information related to fuel prices. It confirms what I have suspected for quite sometime. Something has to be done to stop oil being priced by speculators. Our economy and the economy of the world is being dramatically affected.

Many of us are seeing our buying power reduced dramatically because of diesel fuel prices. Diesel fuel is dramatically increasing the prices of everything we buy. Everything we get is delivered by truck, train, ship, airplane or is produced by farm equipment using diesel fuel.

At the current stated rate that gas prices will be by summer, $4.00 per gal for gas, then diesel will likely be over $5.00 per gal.

I drive a diesel powered pickup and a gas powered vehicle and am retired. So I don't commute everyday. My fuel costs for a month is near $500. We donot drive anymore than necessary but go to our normal activities.

Since I am retired most of my income is fixed. When I retired 4 years ago I could meet my expenses with my income and had money left. Now I have to depend on taking money out of my IRA just to pay my bills and eat. It is getting tighter everyday.

There is no way I can budget for fuel because it goes up faster than I can keep up with it.

Vacations will likely have to be curtailed totally or choose places very close to home. No more trips to the mountains, etc. at the current prices of fuel.

Something has to be done to stop this. Speculators and finaciers and oil companies are getting rich on the backs of the people like me and the rest of America.

I ask you and all of our representatives to take action to stop this non-sense.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,538412,00.html

TGPILOT

Interesting read on FOX news:

BISMARCK, N.D. — The government estimates up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana, using current technology.

The U.S. Geological Survey calls it the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.

An assessment by USGS in 1999 found the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge had 10.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil, said Brenda Pierce, a geologist for the agency

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.

The Bakken Formation encompasses some 25,000 square miles in North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

About two-thirds of the acreage is in western North Dakota, where the oil is trapped in a thin layer of dense rock nearly two miles beneath the surface.

Companies use pressurized fluid and sand to break pores in the rock and prop them open to recover the oil.

Donald Kessel, vice president of Houston-based Murex Petroleum Corp., said he believes the Geological Survey's assessment of how much oil can be recovered in the Bakken may be a little on the high side.

Related

Study: Higher Gas Prices Save Lives
Segan: America Needs a 75-Year Technology Plan
U.S. Air Force Plans Coal-to-Fuel Conversion Plant
Ethanol Production May Expand Gulf 'Dead Zone'
Dvorak: Green Computing Is Pointless

/**/

"That's a lot of zeros," Kessel said Thursday.

Kessel said his company was the first to get a producing well in the Bakken in North Dakota three years ago. The company now has about 20 producing wells.

The report released Thursday by USGS was done at the request of Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., over the past 18 months.

A study by the USGS in 1995 found 151 million barrels of oil could be recovered from the Bakken using technology at that time.

"This is great news," Dorgan said of the new report. "This is 25 times the amount of the previous assessment."

Tom

Tom Cobb

I have read sometime back about shale oil in CO, UT, WY, ID area that has a quantity of oil approaching what the middle east has.

Alberta, Canada has a tremendous amount of shale oil. The US gets a big chunk of that. There is oil exploration going on all over Canada.

The oil is there but the tree huggers want to stop it. I would like to see how much fuel the tree huggers use.

LBZ

It is Monday in Singapore and I caught this quote from the morning trading session there...

"Gains in oil and commodity markets have been fuelled in part by investors and speculators seeking a hedge against inflation and the falling dollar, but some analysts said this relationship may have gone as far as it can go.

"Non-fundamental factors, such as the exchange value of the U.S. dollar, continue to play a role in setting the tone for price direction, but may have potentially peaked in terms of maximum bullish impact on crude oil prices," Martin King, analyst with First Energy Capital, said in a report."

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSSYD3274320080413

Tom Cobb

Maybe a little good news in that.....I hope.

LBZ

Yes, I hope that relationship they are speaking of disintegrates & does not see the light of day again in this sector! Cool

Tom Cobb

Me and you too. I hope the govt will fix it where it can't happen again. Maybe prices will drop again to some reasonable level.

bth9461

I don't know if the Gov't can fix this. If they depress the price by law or curtail speculation by law. What do you do about the world market. Oil will follow the money, and it could cause shortages here, refiner's would have to buy at the higher world market prices to keep the oil coming.

What is needed is a big drop in the price, to burst the buble on oil futures. Thus chasing the speculators out of the market. But that could cause other problems if your IRA or Pension is invested in oil.

Don't count on Washington to fix this, they are not that smart, their fix could be worse on us all.

Brian

Tom Cobb

The stock market is regulated but apparently the commodities market is not. They need to investigate this whole mess and see what kind of collusion is taking place. I don't like govt regulation no more than is absolutely necessary but if something is not done then the world economy will fall into complete chaos.

This situation has caused prices of everything to soar. The only people who can survive in this are the rich. This mess has even had a huge negative affect on the middle class.

Retired and poor people are affected more than others. When I retired my non-business fuel bill was less than $200 a month. Now it is near $500. If I went to CO on vacation with my trailer (less than 2000 miles round trip) the round trip cost would be almost $1000 for fuel. It cost me about $100 for fuel to get from Hurst to just south of Houston. That is about 600 mile round trip in my Trailblazer getting 21 MPG.

These prices are going to devastate areas dependent on tourism. Food, hotels rooms, and everything else is skyrocketing.

Something is running loose in the hen house. Speculators and financiers are getting rich and we are giving them the money to get rich.

This economy is suppose to be based and supply and demand and when that is usurped by speculators then people will suffer. This happen in the in the 1800's and damned near bankrupted the country at least twice and we still haven't learned our lessons. Nobody wants to study history any more.

TGPILOT

Our gas in this area is running about $3.139 to $3.199. On the news tonight they said that in about two weeks +/- that we will be seeing $3.50 per gal and within the month +/- that it will be up to $3.659 a gal.

Then, about summer or mid summer $4.00 a gal., maybe more. Remember, that's for unleaded. Fuel will be much higher if things don't change. Oh yes, McCain was supposed to have said today that "Yes we are in a recession".

Tom

Tom Cobb

Gas is cheaper there than in the DFW area. I think there is some overcharging going on here. All gas has ethanol in place of the crap they added a few years back to control pollution and they charged us more for it. Now it is all the same and we are still paying the higher price.

They are determined to get it to $4.00...that is what they are all saying so you can bet it will happen. Diesel will be $4.85 or higher when gas hits $4.00.

LBZ

Just snuck in and topped off the tank @ $3.95. All other fuel stops with diesel around here are ranging $4.09-$4.29....one was posting $4.35 Evil or Very Mad

Tom Cobb

I topped off at Walmart Thurs at $3.93 less 3 cent discount. Friday it was $3.95. Walmart has been holding the price on diesel but I don't know how much longer they will. All the other places are $4.09 - $4.15 and may be higher in others.

This is going to destroy the economy if it keeps going. Prices of everything is just going out of sight.

LBZ

Anybody have the arrow to burst the bubble that the energy sector is on? I keep reading about more 'n more novice investors who are trying to hedge their own expenses by buying into this market pushing it even higher than what the boys on Wall Street and other market hubs around the globe are abusing! Evil or Very Mad

bth9461

I expect that to happen at some time, what goes up must come down. Somebody will be left holding the bag, but I won't be crying for them when it does happen.

Brian

Diesel Fuel Prices

Hard times ahead ???