CAMARILLO, Calif. -- After a dramatic $1.65-per-gallon retail price crash over nine months, the retail price of gasoline bumped up by 12.72 cents over the past two weeks to $2.1963 for regular grade, according to the most recent Lundberg Survey of approximately 2,500 U.S. gas stations.
And after a very good and extended run, superior retail margin have "skinnied" to a mere 10.69 cents.
It was higher prices for crude oils, not U.S. gasoline market conditions, which ushered in this price correction. The U.S. gasoline market is not short. In fact, stocks are high, refining capacity utilization is impressive, the labor strike at some U.S. plants did not spark this gasoline price push and the seasonally added refining costs from summer vapor pressure maximums have not yet arrived.
There are a few more pennies per gallon rise coming to the street from crude's recent rise, unless a sudden oil price drop now occurs to cancel them out. Retailers are squeezed in many markets, and will be under pressure to hustle margin recovery soon. According to Lundberg surveys, this is the lowest retail margin on regular grade since Feb. 21, 2014, one year ago.
Camarillo, Calif.-based Lundberg Survey Inc. is an independent market research company specializing in the U.S. petroleum marketing and related industries.
Click here for previous Lundberg Survey reports in CSP Daily News.
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