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Gas for idiots

By adamg on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 12:39pm

Last night, the Shell station on Spring Street in West Roxbury was selling regular for $4.20 a gallon - just a mile up from the Hess station on Centre Street, where it was going for $3.86 a gallon. Dudes, your prices are, like, so two weeks ago.

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Comments

By ShadyMilkMan on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 12:47pm.

Memorial Drive featured two stations at 3.85 and another one at 4.10 all in a row. Someone didnt get the memo (they are all big corporate stations and are normally the same.)

By anon on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 1:21pm.

Shell gas is always much more expensive. Murdering civil rights activists in other countries ain't cheap yanno.

By Will LaTulippe on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 1:55pm.

Chevron in Del Mar right off the 5 was $4.70 for regular. A Mobil not more than 200 yards away was $4.57.

By adamg on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 1:59pm.

Gas on the west side of the White Mountains (like, Lincoln/North Woodstock) was 20 cents more a gallon than on the east side (like, Conway/North Conway).

By Cleary Squared on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:33pm.

I last visited the White Mountains 20+ years ago, but if you have a lot of tourists in that area and very few gas stations, the stations on the west side will take advantage of the extra premium, especially if you're headed on the Kancamagus Highway eastbound. Conversely, if there are plentiful gas stations in Conway, it's likely to have people fill up if gas stations are scarce in Lincoln/Woodstock - and there is NO opportunity to get gas on the KH.

By SwirlyGrrl on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 2:27pm.

Portland OR, Seattle, etc. My dad saw a Chevron with $4.35/gallon and all but chirped the tires getting over there.

You don't want to know the per litre price in British Columbia.

By Cleary Squared on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 8:35pm.

I'd say around $1.35 per litre, which translates to $5.10 per gallon here.

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 10:50pm.

More like $1.52 - which is absurd, given the amount of production and refining just the other side of the mountains!

One more reason that we took the train and did a public transit vacation.

It seems the prices have dropped a bit over the last couple of weeks - that may have been the peak for now.

By GradStudent on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 2:17pm.

Huh, I always just thought that gas stations with "old" prices were just still selling the gas from their last shipment bought at the old price. When the next shipment comes in bought at the new price, their price would change. What really happens?

By Cleary Squared on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:44pm.

When the stations get their gasoline, they get it at a wholesale price, and then they mark it up with federal, state, and local sales taxes. The federal and state gasoline taxes come up to 41.8cpg, and sales taxes are 5% here in MA.

It also depends, as you said, on delivery. Gasoline stations receive gas priced on the July trading span, and once that contract to purchase expires, they will begin to receive gas priced on the August trading span.

Also, when there is little demand to purchase gasoline, surplus goes up, and stations try to get their inventories out before the next shipment comes in. Barring situations beyond our control, I can easily see gas plunging to $3.00 by Labor Day, and further than that to maybe $2.00 a gallon by Election Day.

By Eighthman on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 2:56pm.

In Marlboro, I passed a gas station (three times) whose main sign said gas was $3.99, but the signs on the pumps said $3.93 (which matched other stations in the area). I wonder how much business they lost?

By Rob on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 3:54pm.

WR Hess is the best station around. Always the lowest prices.

By Cleary Squared on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:26pm.

Rob, you hit the nail on the head.

Hess is a major oil seller, but their prices are about 15-20 cents cheaper than the bigger firms. Their prices also fall faster than even the independent stations.

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 10:39pm.

I have been biking past this station now and again and noticed their great prices. This is my second trip there - the first was the last time I filled up over five weeks ago. They somehow beat everyone else's prices by 4 or 5 cents, ten to fifteen cents less than the nearby Mobil Mart.

Today's price: 3.83 a gallon. 0.12 less than late June's fill. Still hurts at $67 a tank, but I can't complain.