For example, PADD 2 retail gained more than 7 cents, while the West Coast average was down 7 cents over the [image-nocss] two weeks. The Midwest jump was unbranded-rack driven, with a nickel rise between September 9 and September 10 to $2.1409 per gallon. (Across the region, branded rack rose 1.39 cents on September 10, jobber-delivered DTW rose by 2.65 cents, and DTW fell 0.79 on average.)
In coming days, if the Enbridge pipeline issue doesn't create any strong perception of real shortfall, the gasoline market will probably go back to sleepcrude oil willing. The oil price has been floating around $72 to $76 during the past month. If it stays within that rather narrow band, then the oversupply of gasoline, coupled with 2010's no-growth demand, suggests little change in the retail price of gasoline, if any, in the year future.
Meanwhile, the U.S. average retail margin has been punctured, in part due to the Enbridge event's quick impact on the wholesale market. The pooled retail margin is 11.33 cents, 4.73 cents skinnier than on August 27. At the same time, the per-gallon refining margin on gasoline gained nearly a penny. Year-to-date, it's refiners, not retailers, who are hurting: Retail margin is higher than any other year this decade, while refiners' gasoline margin year-to-date is lower than any other year this decade.
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