Plan B Forum

Another sign of the bizarro world we have entered...

Oil is stuck below $0 as the market's unprecedented rout continues

Crude oil for May delivery remained in negative territory on Tuesday, a day after hitting its lowest-ever level. The contract traded positive at one point before heading lower again.

West Texas Intermediate oil futures expiring in May traded as low as -$16.74 a barrel on Tuesday, up from Monday's close of -$37.63.

That selling pressure seeped into WTI crude contracts for June, which fell as much as 42%, to $11.89 a barrel. Brent crude slid 29%, to $18.10 at intrasession lows.

Oil's price dropping into negative territory means that major producers now have to pay buyers to take oil off their hands. This reflects the evaporation of demand in markets amid the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of storage space in the US for oil.

Tuesday is the final day of trading for WTI's May futures contracts, meaning anyone holding a contract afterward is obliged to take delivery of the physical product. With little storage available, traders scrambled to offload their contracts, leading to the historic plunge.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/new ... 1029111142

That was for soon to expire future contracts. The world is running out of places to store oil and the products like gasoline.

And after all our Orange Mussolini has done to support his Saudi business partners.

Is nothing sacred... where's the quid pro quo?

Oil tankers anchored off California

I filled up my car today for $20 - just over 11 gallons. Been a very long time since I could do that. Makes me itch to take a road trip. Fuck.

At Royal Farms -- in Mill Creek DE -- with my RoFo rewards discount I paid $1.63 today.

It will soon be too cheap to meter.

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:49 pm

I filled up my car today for $20 - just over 11 gallons. Been a very long time since I could do that. Makes me itch to take a road trip. Fuck.

I'd let the tank in my Toyota get down to about 1/8 full, so I also filled up today for less than $10 - just over 9 gallons.
(current pump price here in western Wisconsin is 98.9¢ per gallon.  Don't you wish you lived where I do?)

I do agree with you, BSG ... I thought I'd have to die and go to heaven to ever see prices like these again.  And since I have to go to the post office tomorrow to check my PO box anyway, I just may take the scenic route there and back.  All by myself in the car with the radio playing, I'm still observing social distancing.

-"BB"-

98 cents! That’s crazy great!

It’s going to be sunny here Wednesday, the one sunny day in a week of spring rain. I’m planning to take a drive to outer Cape Cod, with a stop for a hike on a fire road I know about where hardly anybody goes in good times, much less times like these. It’s a stroll through woods for about a mile .5 that opens up at the end to a bluff overlooking the Atlantic. Riley and I will enjoy it, as well as the long drive there and back.

You know if you run your tank down to 1/8 you might hurt your fuel injection system.

(My RAV has a 15.3 gallon capacity tank, and the low fuel alert triggers when it’s down ~12 gallons - I know this because that’s how many it takes at most when I let the light come on and go a few more miles - or 20 - before filling it. I’m thinking they designed it this way to protect the fuel injection system. But what do I know, I’m just a woman.)

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:46 am

You know if you run your tank down to 1/8 you might hurt your fuel injection system.

And when you consider Mehitabel is old enough to legally drink, smoke, and vote, and since I don't know how she was treated during the first 20 years of her life, I hold my breath whenever the needle gets down below 1/4 tank in case this time is going to be the time the fuel pump decides enough is enough.  But since I only paid $700 for her, she's not rusted out too badly, her motor seems sound, and she can still hit 75 on the interstate without sounding like she's straining for dear life, I suppose I'll run her until the wheels fall off — or Lady Luck smiles on me and I hit the lottery.

-"BB"-

Lowest I found in the 95 miles I drove for work today was $2.43. Yay West Coast...

$2.279 for me. For premium.

$1.719 for regular unleaded (10% ethanol) was the cheapest I found when I filled up last Saturday, though it seemed like $1.799 to 1.829 was most common. Even in the city of Chicago it seemed to be <$2/gal.

Allowing for exch. rate and liter/gallon ratio, we're paying about $3.20 per gallon. OTOH we purchased "essential supplies" for 7-10 days this weekend and that cost us $106. Swings and roundabouts

How much is gas in [SF] Bay Area?
The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline right now is around $2.70, according to AAA. The organization says California's statewide average is $3.74, and in the Bay Area, average prices range from $3.68 in the Vallejo-Fairfield area to $3.87 in Napa.Jun 27, 2019

I haven't been to service station for near a month.

Still have near half a tank.

My Honda Civic sips gasoline.

$1.39 here, but I hear that south of here it is closer to $1.00. Let the good times roll.

Here in San "Highest Gas Prices In The US" Francisco, the cheapest I've seen lately is $2.65...

Which is actually about a buck a gallon less than a couple of months ago...

Gasbuddy.com is showing several local stations in the $1.209 area, with most around $1.289. One of my friends borrowed my pickup to pull his car trailer to a small town 15 miles east of here the other day. He filled the truck for $1.099 . That station is at $1.129 today. Sam's Club was $1.179 early this morning, but they were higher than some of the others yesterday when I filled my Volvo before checking the competition. Duh.

dales wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:20 pm

How much is gas in [SF] Bay Area?
The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline right now is around $2.70, according to AAA. The organization says California's statewide average is $3.74, and in the Bay Area, average prices range from $3.68 in the Vallejo-Fairfield area to $3.87 in Napa.Jun 27, 2019

I haven't been to service station for near a month.

Still have near half a tank.

My Honda Civic sips gasoline.

Especially since you don't have to drive to work.

Happily retired.

Enjoying the fruits of your labour.