With crude's steep price drop, refiners kept a few cents, not much to spread over total operable capacity with so much of it idled, and retailers, still panting after an extreme margin [image-nocss] squeeze in the May-early June period, kept some toofor now.
It's gasoline's one-year anniversary sale: a discount of $1.56 per gallon, the biggest ever, under the year ago price. On June 11, 2008, regular grade at retail gasoline hit its all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon. That currently huge price difference can't make up for the giant dent in the number of employed motorists.
Retail margin on July 10 is double the norm, and will shrink soon. Even if oil prices don't fall further, the likeliest retail gasoline price direction is down. Weaker oil prices and employment would make for more extreme cuts on the street.
Last week, CSP Daily News featured a special edition of the Lundberg Letter analyzing Cap & Trade legislation.Click here for details.
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