How High is Gas Prices going in the next year and y?

Question

How High is Gas Prices going in the next year and y?

Answer 1

First off, there are too many variables in the gasoline pricing equation to be able to say with any authority where prices will land up in the coming year.

Right now, prices are fairly stable and I expect they will remain about this level through to spring.  In the spring, the refineries will begin to shut down for annual maintenance.  They do this every year.  During the spring maintenance season, prices will spike, as they do every year.  Expect prices based on current crude cost to approach $3.50/gallon nationally and approach $4/gallon on the west coast and other high cost locales.

Why spring?  Because the home heating oil season is just ending and the summer gasoline surge has yet to begin.  It is the slowest time of year for the refineries.  March and April are the low point on overall petroleum finished product demand.  May and June kicks off the summer driving season and gasoline needs to be at the terminals, which are 2 weeks out of the production point.  July and August are peak gasoline usage and the beginning of home heating oil production again.

Crude currently represents about 65-70% of gasoline cost right now, due to its recent increase.  Refinery costs, taxation, marketing and distibution costs round out the price we pay for a gallon of gasoline at the local station.  There is no way to know how geopolitical issues will develop over time, so future prices are no more than a guess.  Refineries are expanding to meet demand, but the completion dates are a couple years out, so refinery costs will remain high.

EDIT:  napolee_nj, most of your response is spot-on, but prices are not set by OPEC.  OPEC sets production goals which they believe will cause prices to approach some target price.  If prices are too low, they will limit production in order to increase demand and lift pricing.  Right now, OPEC is producing as much oil as they can, because the current  market price is well above their expectations.  The global spot market is where prices are set.  Speculators who purchased futures hope  that prices will be higher, so they can sell the rights on the market for a profit, otherwise they lose money.  Keep in mind, the country we import the most oil from is not middle eastern or an OPEC member, but Canada.  Canada is our largest oil source, by almost a factor of 2.  Mexico provides us with as much as Saudi Arabia, then in 4th is Venzuela.

Answer 2

No one knows, but since there is such a demand for oil now. And countries as china and India are using mor cars now. Oil demands are high. So the price is set by the OPEC countries. That why we need to find alternative means, and weed are selves away

Answer 3

Who cares and because.

Answer 4

Gas prices goes up easily but goes down slowly.  If a gas station owner reads that the price of crude oil went up, he immediately changes his gas prices UP.  But when he hears that a barrel of oil went down, he CANNOT change his price down.  That gas in the ground tank is already paid at higher prices and he has to recoup that cost no matter what!

Our gas prices are about $1 to $1.50 higher than last year.  So figure that much for next year.  Of course it took use 30 years to get from $0.35 (1972) to $2.00 (2002).  Now gas going up a dollar yearly seem almost acceptable.

That's because we are all sheeps listening to the c**p from politicians.

We deserve it,

Good Luck.

Answer 5

I don't know, maybe you can find a fortune teller to read the teabags?

Answer 6

My husband read a report that within the next year it is very possible that gas is going to hit $5.00 per gallon. I feel this economy is so unpredictable right now, that's it's hard to guess what will happen next.

Answer 7

Prices are set by supply and demand.  

Demand - look at things.  Prices keep going up but do you see traffic getting any better?  No.  You can't really buy more efficient cars yet (takes automakers about 5 years to retool) so clearly people are willing to pay higher prices for gas.  India and China have 2.4 billion people between them, and their middle class is exploding and buying cars like mad.  The number of cars in the world could double in the next 10 years.

Supply - some say "oil has peaked" but certainly, there isn't any spare capacity to go around.  OPEC is max'ed out in production, so they can't play the overproduce/underproduce pricing games they used to.

Supply down or Demand up = higher prices.  Both at once = much higher prices.  Fasten your seat belt, or rather, buy a subway pass.