CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Repeatedly, when U.S. refiners got oil price breaks, the discounts made their way to the pump, and since mid-July, the average retail price has dropped 80 cents, according to the most recent Lundberg Survey of approximately 2,500 U.S. gas stations.
At times, refiners passed through even more cuts into gasoline than they had gotten in crude. The price crash appeared spent a number of times since last summer.
Now oil prices have suddenly declined again, bringing a 4.02-cent drop in the average retail price of gasoline to $2.0622 per gallon. This is the lowest average price since April 2009--nearly seven years ago.
In the case of the past two weeks, refiner margin on gasoline improved, but retailer gasoline margin shrank. The weighted wholesale gasoline price, combining classes of trade, rose a slight 0.8 cents. Retail margin lost nearly a nickel, sitting now at just 14.37 cents per gallon. At the moment, there is some tough sledding for retail margin in some Midwest and Southeast markets.
The average pump price may decline a few more cents from oil's latest drops, barring a quick oil price rebound.
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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