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Gas selling for under $1 per gallon in 13 US states
- Flockster 7y agoCan not read this article from the EU.. But the headline amounts to ~ 0,24€ per liter.
- purple-again 7y agoThe only real meat from the article: The states on that list include New York, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas and Kentucky. Keep in mind though that prices are not in any way shape or form set at the state level. This could just mean that one small region of the state has that price while the major metro areas where 95% of the states population live are 250% higher still.
- gccxsse 7y ago>the major metro areas where 95% of the states population live Do you have anything to back this up?
- londons_explore 7y ago> This could mean It's conjecture.
- rat9988 7y agoYou missed the point.
- satya71 7y agoI can give anecdote from St Louis region, which has ~40-50% of Missouri's population. Gas prices here are around $1.60
- bluesquared 7y agoI live in one of the large metros in Ohio, prices are all still $1.30-1.50/gallon here. Like most of the locations in the article, I would guess the sub-dollar prices are very isolated locations or special circumstances (no-tax native american reservations like I saw in other comments?)
- heywire 7y ago$1.07 in the Dayton area...
- bmelton 7y ago> Keep in mind though that prices are not in any way shape or form set at the state level Gasoline / Diesel taxes vary pretty widely from state to state. Taking from either end, gas in Alaska is taxed at 14.6 cents per gallon, while California's gas tax is more than quadruple that at 61.2 cents. The gap is even bigger for diesel. Maybe this is a semantic critique, but the assertion that prices are not set at the state level seems a naive one. They're not "set" at the federal level either, but taxes bear on the price significantly at both levels, though more uniformly at the latter.
- nicoburns 7y agoAll of those seem very low from my European perspective. Fuel duty is the equivalent of $2.67/gallon here in the UK.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- blakesterz 7y agoI didn't check all of the states that are under $1, but here in NY all of the locations listed that are under $1 are Indian Reservations. Reservations here sell gas, and cigarettes (and a bunch of other stuff) without the state/federal taxes, so it's way WAY cheaper. I assume this is the same in all states? In my area it's still around $2/gallon. I'm not close enough to a reservation to bother making the drive, but many people (especially smokers) make regular drives to get gas and smokes.
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoI've seen a few threads about local gas prices in some of the less degreed, bluer collar and more rural filter bubbles I'm a part of. Everyone reporting super low prices is either a stone's throw from the refining infrastructure or buying on a reservation. Most people seem to be paying $2+/- $0.50 as of a few days ago. Edit: changed my wording because apparently some of you would rather have me tiptoe around the differences between HN and the general population.
- deadmetheny 7y agoAs a data point, here in the semi-rural Midwest I'm paying $1.60/gal. I'd guess if I took a road trip to the res it'd be close to $1, though probably not less.
- BenjiWiebe 7y agoAnother data point, no reservation or anything, it's $1.30 near me in central Kansas.
- numo16 7y agoSaw it for $1.14 in south east Michigan
- chasd00 7y agoI saw $1.17 in North Texas yesterday
- foobarian 7y agoToo bad I'm not driving at all now and don't have any place to store large amounts of gasoline.
- Wowfunhappy 7y agoOf course, the reason you're not driving right now is also the reason prices are so low. You can't beat the system...
- philshem 7y agoReminds me of the old witticism “You aren’t stuck in traffic. You are traffic.”
- mrweasel 7y agoNot the only reason. Until last week Russia and Saudi Arabia was in a price war, which was/is a large part of the reason for the low gas prices, at least in the EU.
- Wowfunhappy 7y agoMy understanding was that the price war was still, indirectly, caused by the Coronavirus. The price was dropping a little early on when the virus was mostly confined to China, and the OPEC countries couldn't agree on who should cut production... so they broke up and made everything worse. https://www.npr.org/2020/03/11/814529252/episode-978-coronavirus-oil-and-kansas https://www.npr.org/2020/03/11/814529252/episode-978-coronav...
- dkdk8283 7y agoI live in area with lots of natural disasters and store fuel on site. It’s already full, but thinking about buying another tank to take advantage of the prices
- brianwawok 7y agoHow fast do you go through it, and would you add stabilizers so it spoilers slower?
- taytus 7y agoPrice for Netflix monthly subscription: $12.99 Price for a barrel of oil: $11.50 If you simply cancel your Netflix subscription and store oil in your backyard...you'll be really bored and have a bunch of oil in your backyard Source: https://twitter.com/awealthofcs/status/1252206952064614406 https://twitter.com/awealthofcs/status/1252206952064614406
- HenryKissinger 7y agoPlus you can sell at a profit when prices rise, although you'll need a lot of storage capacity if you hope to earn anything remotely substantial.
- vageli 7y ago> Plus you can sell at a profit when prices rise, although you'll need a lot of storage capacity if you hope to earn anything remotely substantial. You'll probably need a special license to sell oil in large amounts, considering the complications involved in storing, transporting, and disposing of it.
- matt_morgan 7y agoStart an Uber for oil sales. You're not selling it, you're just enabling. Others can get licenses, or not. You don't have to care!
- toomuchtodo 7y agoYou’ve just reinvented the commodities futures market. You can even take delivery in Cushing, OK if you want (but you don’t have to, as long as you roll out of the contract before the delivery date). https://www.cmegroup.com/ https://www.cmegroup.com/ https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/why-futures/welcome-to-nymex-wti-light-sweet-crude-oil-futures.html https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/why-futures/welcome-to-nyme... (CME Light sweet crude WTI)
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- tdons 7y agoWhy aren't people filling up big tanks? I don't get it.
- peregrine 7y agoThey are and do. The tanks are full.
- blhack 7y agoBecause gasoline goes bad eventually. As far as oil: some are. Often times in the form of huge tankers floating off the coast.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- bognition 7y agoStoring oil isn't easy, cheap, or safe. I doubt many people have tanks, the know how, or the permits required to store oil. Then once the price goes up you have to move the oil again. It's all really complicated. If you're seriously curious about knowing more check out https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/08/26/491342091/planet-money-buys-oil https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/08/26/491342091/plan...
- vageli 7y ago> Why aren't people filling up big tanks? I don't get it. Gas is fairly volatile—even when storing my motorcycle for a couple of months I put gas stabilizer in the tank to avoid draining it.
- daxfohl 7y agoThat's a lot of work to make $20 over the few years it takes to rebound. (assuming it ever does)
- scottLobster 7y agoThey are. The world is simply running out of suitable tanks. Yes, that's a thing when global oil demand drops by 30% but production is only cut by 10%. Even if you disregarded every law regarding oil storage and started filling up water towers and tuppaware containers, exactly how many of the ~25,000,000 excess barrels of oil now being produced DAILY do you think that would account for?
- JoeAltmaier 7y agoIn other news: local restaurants are dumping alcoholic drinks out 'the back door' for a song. Because, dated. Don't get used to low prices. It's gonna change.
- gwbas1c 7y agoOne of my cars is a long-range Tesla, the other is a plug-in hybrid that can go about 30-ish miles on a battery. At the beginning of the lockdown, I looked at my wife and said, "let's stop touching icky gas handles during this whole thing and make sure we only charge at home." So all of our distance driving uses the Tesla, and we use the plug-in hybrid for in town driving. Haven't touched an icky gas pump yet!
- speedgoose 7y agoIs Tesla the ArchLinux of cars manufacturers? By the way, why are you driving long distance during a lockdown?
- shrimp_emoji 7y agoTesla's the Apple of cars. The Arch of cars: https://ea0e05a6ffc83d5fb84e-cbd7b9ff6ab9d7e4de0720aa602bc9d7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/vid23573776_v1AUTH_svc.pdoc00001PIX1119701564b-cf13-4dc8-9001-59e7da6bcdd1.JPG__275x206.jpg https://ea0e05a6ffc83d5fb84e-cbd7b9ff6ab9d7e4de0720aa602bc9d... The Manjaro of cars: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c2/2a/eb/c22aebc3121882e6d54a1237230cf058.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c2/2a/eb/c22aebc3121882e6d54a12372... The Debian of cars: https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/right-front-9-e1493572938347.jpg https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/right-front... The Ubuntu of cars: http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/05/2018-Honda-Odyssey-side-view-02.jpg http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/05/2018-Honda-...
- dxbydt 7y agoI have been averaging a dollar per gallon for over a year now in Indiana. Just get a gas card. At my store https://www.kroger.com/fuelfaqs?storeNumber=02900364 https://www.kroger.com/fuelfaqs?storeNumber=02900364 "up to 1,000 fuel points can be redeemed for up to 1 dollar off per gallon at Kroger Fuel Centers in a single transaction" So I buy my groceries, accumulate 1000 fuel points & then fill up once a month. Ofcourse, it all balances out - my wife has an EV & pays $150 back to the state :( https://www.myev.com/research/interesting-finds/states-that-charge-extra-fees-to-own-an-electric-vehicle https://www.myev.com/research/interesting-finds/states-that-...
- brianwawok 7y agoThe downside (also from Indiana) is you have to go to Kroger. It’s about the third chain in line of grocery stores I want to go to due to general dirtiness and high end product selection.
- dxbydt 7y agoSorry, I am relatively new to your state. This my second year in Indiana. I tried going to Meijer https://www.meijer.com/ https://www.meijer.com/ a few times. imo clientele's too posh & everything felt too upscale, clean & stuck up. I tend to skew blue collar. When I think grocery I want a see an unkempt farmer pull up in a truck & dump 100 pounds of broccoli in crates so there's stalk and leaves all over the store, and that is exactly Kroger. I then get to pick up the broccoli for a dollar. If I go to Meijer they wrap the broccoli nicely in plastic & charge $5. I don't have that kind of spare change. For $5 you can rent a whole vm on linode & get a business going.
- cableshaft 7y agoI know a guy that thinks Meijer is below him, and won't shop there. Likens it to a low-grade Wal-mart. And he lives near me and so I know which Meijer's he's been to, and there's nothing wrong with those stores. I certainly have no problem shopping there, and I think it's cleaner than most local stores (that aren't high end, there's quite a few of those around here), certainly better than Wal-mart, although Wal-Mart does have a better delivery service, we just found out yesterday. Meijer has cheaper Broccoli than that. Just checked their website, and you can get broccoli for $2 a pound, or a giant 32 oz bag of fresh florets for $5, which I guess is what you're referring to, but that's easier to cook with and prepare, so there's probably more demand for it in that form, and has similar prices elsewhere (my local Wal-Mart has that priced at $6 right now). You can also buy 12 oz bags of frozen broccoli for $1 each right now at Meijer. And I'm near Chicago, which is probably more expensive than Indiana. Even the Whole Foods near me is only selling broccoli for $2.50 a pound.
- Cactus2018 7y agoThe website\app GasBuddy has a great US gas price heat map. Data is updated through in-app gamification. https://www.gasbuddy.com/GasPriceMap https://www.gasbuddy.com/GasPriceMap A few screenshots - https://postimg.cc/gallery/4YLTqLH https://postimg.cc/gallery/4YLTqLH
- driverdan 7y agoUse the website, not the app. The app is spyware and regularly sends them your location data in the background.
- tekromancr 7y agoOh... Oh no. If you don't like that then I have some REALLY bad news about literally every other app.
- driverdan 7y agoNice whataboutism. Call out those apps too if they get promoted here.
- exhilaration 7y agoPro-tip, if you're driving very, very little look up an ethanol-free gas station on pure-gas.org and fill up there when your tank is nearly empty. It'll cost more but you don't want ethanol sitting in your gas tank, fuel filter, and engine for months. An alternative is fuel stabilizer but make sure you do your math correctly and don't add to much or or too little. I predict a surge in cars that won't start when the stay-at-home orders are lifted.
- joezydeco 7y agoFriend of mine is in the car battery business and he's gearing up for a huge surge of dead battery replacement business when this is all over. Doesn't really make up for the lost OEM business from the car manufacturers but it's something.
- andruby 7y agoI make a habit of driving my car at least once every month to combat this.
- bluGill 7y agoI have my truck on a battery maintainer. Saves having to start it for a trip I otherwise wouldn't make (or would use a car for). I use it only when I have a task that needs a truck which only happens a few times a year, everything else I take the bus.
- tricky 7y agoThis is 100% correct. After about 6 months in the tank, ethanol gas starts turning into sticky garbage that doesn't want to burn. I have a few classic cars that sit a lot. A couple times a year I drive an hour to my nearest ethanol-free gas station with a trunk load of gas cans. I'm sure it is incredibly dangerous, but I haven't had any fuel system problems since I started doing it.
- 0xff00ffee 7y ago
- m-i-l 7y agoIn not entirely unrelated news, some electricity providers in the UK have been paying you to charge your electric car[0] today. There have been other days recently where the "agile pricing" has also gone below zero, e.g. 5 April[1]. With the lockdown no-one is supposed to drive anywhere unless absolutely essential though (so e.g. the NHS doesn't have to deal with casualties from traffic accidents), and they're talking about banning cars on some roads for a period when lockdown is lifted[2] (to make it easier for people to walk or cycle). [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2020/04/20/a-rare-covid-19-upside-homeowners-being-paid-to-use-electricity/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2020/04/20/a-rare-... [1] https://www.energy-stats.uk/agile-price-plunges/ https://www.energy-stats.uk/agile-price-plunges/ [2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52353942 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52353942
- ipnon 7y agoThe official reasoning for the current Fed's unprecedented quantitative easing is to prevent deflating prices like these from lasting long-term.
- chiefalchemist 7y agoThis is not good news. Oil/energy is an economic lubricant. The depth and breadth of its reach and power exceeds The Fed. In the USA, the 2007/08 recession was softened (?) by keeping energy prices low. Increase in domestic product - via fracking - being the key. Without fuel prices as an economic tool the dynamic and predictabily of the coming recovery will be greatly limited.
- Proven 7y agoAt least in the US people a break like this during a crisis. In the EU they keep milking you just the same because the cost of gasoline is just a bunch of taxes used for reckless government spending
- ruddct 7y agoSounds like a great time to shore up state budgets by raising the gas tax.
- unethical_ban 7y agoIt's cheap because it's in low demand at the moment. You'd only be taxing essential workers (thanks for risking your health because we have no social safety net) and logistics, which would raise prices for the consumer. I just don't think now is the time to raise the gas tax.
- tsuru 7y agoThe last time I remember these prices was 1998-ish. A quick online inflation checker tells me this is would be like $0.63 USD / gallon then.
- ungzd 7y agoIs this website about internal combustion engine fuels? Or it's just an aggregator of all american newspapers? I thought HN is something about software and programming.
- dang 7y agoThat's mistaken. HN is about anything intellectually interesting: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. Of course, repetition is not intellectually interesting so we try to keep the front page relatively free of it.
- subsubzero 7y agoAnd yet in the sf bay area gas is still close to $3..
- isoskeles 7y agoHere's a nice breakdown of the factors for that price. Taxes are around 72c of that gallon, on March 30th. https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/transportation_data/gasoline/margins/index_cms.php https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/transportation_data/gasoli... I'd love to see updated numbers on this.
- chasd00 7y agoI saw it for $1.17 in Sherman TX yesterday. The lowest i've ever seen gas was around $0.96 sometime in the 90s
- BooneJS 7y agoI filled my car in Wisconsin for the first time in 2 months at $0.989 for 87 octane. I think the last time I paid that price the attendant filled it for me.
- azinman2 7y agoWhat I don’t understand is why it’s so much more in CA. It can’t just be taxes; it’s only 0.47c [1]. So why is it often $1-2 more? [1] https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/sales-tax-rates-for-fuels.htm https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/sales-tax-rates-for-...
- ilikehurdles 7y agoProbably mostly supply and demand. People in CA might have more disposable income than those in Wisconsin. Texas isn't under $1 despite having low taxes and lots of nearby oil drilling.
- azinman2 7y agoSo you’re saying supply is restricted in CA? How can that be? We have now shortages of gas stations, and no shortages of gas. In fact we have many refineries here.
- Domenic_S 7y agoTax is closer to $1 [0]. Gas stations are supply restricted in the sense that their storage tanks are finite in size although it seems to me most of the price is because they can. [0] https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/16/californias-gas-taxes-total-nearly-1-per-gallon-and-include-a-28-cent-mystery-surcharge/ https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/16/californias-gas-taxes-...
- azinman2 7y agoThe federal taxes are true for everyone. So you can subtract that from your difference across the US. But there’s no lack of competition, and plenty of apps like gas buddy that aid in that. That should put pressure to reduce prices, yet neighboring states can be so much lower. Something else is going on.
- masonic 7y agoNo, CA gas is always $1 more because Californians will pay it. It's not a true free market that responds to supply and demand. Even when it's refined locally and should benefit from savings in transportation cost, it's always more. The CA market is broken out by CA-EPA requiring CA-specific formulations for inauthentic "environmental" reasons. For example, CA "winter" gas adds oxygenates to "reduce CO and soot" by 10%. However, the resulting fuel has 10% less energy, so you have to burn about 110% of it to go the same distance. One of the early oxygenates was MTBE[0]. Genius move, that. Save the environment by poisoning groundwater! [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy
- dang 7y agoWe probably don't need both oil and gas on the front page. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22923025 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22923025
- solotronics 7y agoThe US should buy the oil then pump it back into the shale. We can call it "in ground strategic reserves".
- downshun 7y agoOut of curiosity: How cheap does gas need to get to generate electricity profitably using a generator? I know it is flat out a bad idea in principle to compete against a dedicated large scale producer. But still wondering. Edit: Maybe I should ask r/theydidthemath
- chasd00 7y agoi wonder how fast power plants can switch from lng to gasoline? Man, just when you think we can't get further into bizzaro-world..