I am not an economist and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I think the point is that where demand is inelastic, there is little incentive to engage in price competition. If you can sell all of a product that it is possible for you to sell at a given price, what is the incentive for you to lower your price?

Once gas prices reach the point that people change their behavior, them we will see some marginal price competiton.

Part of the reason for the higer gas prices is also refinery capacity. As I understand it our refinerys are pretty well oeprating their maximum capacity. Add to that the fact that we have not built any new refineries in some period of time. And BP just had one go offline recently down in Texas (it blew up). I think what you are seeing is a more restircted supply than usual.

It will be interesting to see what happnes over the next three weeks. Prices will probably continue to go up through Labor Day. Then we may see prices level off or decrease.

Re: *****UPDATE*****
 

Wolvie:

I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to say. Other than what you say the current gas prices are.

Later.

Hawkeye,

That post about the inelastic demand curve makes sense. Now I understand why there is no competition on gas prices and I didn't stay at any hotel last night either.

Fabs:

I saw a litttle example of how there is some price competiton last night.

Yesterday our gas prices moved up from around 2.54 or 2.58 to 2.69. But not every station made the move to 2.69. When I was driving around yesterday evening, the the stations with the lowest price were pretty busy. the ones that ahd moved part way had a few cars, bu the ones at 2.69 were very quiet.

I predict that by this morning everyone will be at the same price around here.

One reason that price competition isn't that big a deal right now is that even with my Suburban, the ten-cent spread that I sometimes see when the prices jump did not have much impact. Even if the tank was pretty much empty, the difference was only $4, but since I usually tried to keep it realtively full, the impact was usually much less. And the price competitiion is too shortlived to have much effect. Usually only a few hours or a day at the most.

Hawkeye

Sorry was in a little of a hurry,....
 

I was tryin to say that with the hybrid cars ,Japan is the leader in the computer and electronic fields and as the middle east basically has the the market on oil,..and we are depending on the middle east for oil,..and now with the hybrid cars coming out ,what will be next? Depending on Japan (another foreign country),for our lifestyle.

Thats why i was sayin we need to have our own and stop depending on other countries.
And I am not ranting or gettin upset or whinning,..just making an observation.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~;)

One more thing,....
 

Saw over the weekend an article that said something about $3.00 a gal ,...Nationwide.

Not sure what is was al about,...but I plan to research it today and see what I can come up with.

A guy was walking down the street and I saw the front page of his paper,..it looked to be The NY Post. but not sure yet.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

I don't like the prices any more than anybody else, I hear people say that "somebody has to do something" about the high prices. I remember the oil embargo days of the 70's and somebody did try to do something and it went over like passing gas in church. I'm 40 and I can remember this from my youth.

- Lower the speed limit to 55 on all highways (including interstate highways), and enforcing it.

- Lower the thermastats to 65 degrees.

- Extend daylight savings time all winter long.

- Turn off lights inside public buildings except for emergency lighting. (I remember dark hallways in school)

- No Christmas lights.

- The President talking on TV and personally telling America to stay home if you don't have a good reason to drive somewhere.

- Cutting school sports because there's no money to pay for bus fuel.

-Tax credits promoting alternate energy, such as solar power.

-People building smaller houses so they'd cost less to heat.

-People shopping for cars based on fuel efficiency, then bragging about getting 30 or more mpg.

-Kids riding the bus to school instead of driving.

I could go on....but it's going to hurt some more before it gets any better.

I remember sitting in line at the gas station in the 70"s waiting my turn and hoping the station didnt run out before I got my 10 gallons which was all I could get at a time so that I could get to work. I also remember people asking why not a bushel of wheat for a barrell of oil ?

I was a lot younger back then, but I do remember my dad buying a 1976 fiat piece of crapola that got 30+ mpg and I remember him having 10 gallon metal cans of gas filled up in the tool shed. He would take the behemoth Pontiac to the station on the days he was allowed, fill it up, siphon it out into those 10 gallons tanks, and then use it in the Fiat when he had to.

I definitely do not want to go through that because my truck is diesel which would put me at a disadvantage (i.e., cannot fill up the 40 gallon tank and use it in my cars), unless I bought a diesel car.

******UPDATE******
 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Well it has happened,..$3.00 a gal in NY

And it is rumored that it will be a nationwide price set at $3.00 a gal for the 87 octane.

This is what I heard,not what i know for sure , except for the $3.00 a gal somewhere here in NY.

It was on CNN and I guess there`s going to be a report on ABC nightly news tonight 8.17.05 Weds.


Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Not surprised ... Question is how high will it go? It's kinda funny how gas prices are goin' up next thing you know natural gas is gonna sky rocket as much as 35%. It's amazing how quickly things happen in a years time. Natural gas went up 15% last year. I would not surprised if we see 3.75 or 4.00 by january. One thing is for sure i won't be hunting as much this year. It's 98 miles to the least crowded places to hunt. I have to go to iowa just hunt private land.

I would have to agree,....
 

I don`t understand the Natural gas hike thing,...isn`t Natural gas in like our back yards so to speak?

To me it`s all a croc,....and the workin man ain`t never gonna catch a break,..ever !!

I got a new job,...I followed what some posted on here about traveling to find better jobs,...well I found a driving job for $11.00 an hour.I have to commute for about 40 miles (oneway),and then drive all day and then commute back home at the end of the day.

I have budgeted it out to be $150.00 a week alone in just gas.That leaves me around $135.00 a wk to live on,...unless I can get some O.T.

So I guess hunting this year or any year after is over for me,...`cause I can`t afford to go.
Maybe I can hit one with the company truck?!

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Man Wolvie... at $3.00 gallon even, you'd have to be getting 8 miles to the gallon for it to cost you $150/wk.

What are you driving?

Jabba

Jabba,

I think you missed that he has to drive all day.

Wolvie,

What kind of work are you doing now? I remember you talking about trying to get a job as a bus driver. If that is the case, Jabba's calculation is right because you wouldn't be paying for the gas during the day.

Speaking of gas prices.. ours hit $1.039/litre today.. that works out to approx $3.93/usgal with out the exchange rate. OUCH!

I need a truck that gets the gas milage of a sprint!!

That escape hybrid looks even more promising now!

Fill my work truck almost every evening- 87 octane at $2.77 gal-fillup cost $78.00 and will last one day. But the company I work for pays for it and has 50 trucks. Most of them dont use as much fuel as mine but that is still a good chunk of change for Exxon each month.

I drive an,...
 

90 Ford F-150 with a 3.3 eng. 6cyl.

And here`s something else,...I know that I can go up to 281 miles on a full tank of gas.

So here`s my calculations;

40 miles to work + 40 miles home = 80

80 miles x 5 days = 400 miles a wk.

$3.00 a gal. for gas x 18 gal. tank= $54.00 a tank (Fill-up)

And when I drove to Malta from my place I had $10.00 on me and I put it in the tank,..that gave me 1/4 (slightly over), of a tank of gas.
When I got to Malta (exit 10) from (exit 17), I was below 1/8 of a tank.No way i was making it home on that.

I only use my truck to get to work,..it`s just that I drive from Glens Falls area to Malta NY. which is about 40 miles.There`s also construction on I-87 that you are slowed down and even stopped for a brief time.Idle times comsume fuel as well,...maybe not much ,..but all the same a Running Engine is a consuming one.lolol! :D

And by the way I didnt get the bus driving job,..I ended up at another place driving for a window manufactuer.
PVC Industries.
I start Monday morning @ 5am to whatever time.lol!

My GF said that a place called for me to come in today @ 11am for an interview.
2 friends of mine work there,..and they start out a $12 to 13 an hr. union job,its about 7 miles from me,...So I am checking that out today.
I am all about the MONEY
:D

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

One more thing,....
 

I am just happy to have my fat arse back to work,....:D :D :D :cool: :cool: :cool:

And as for my calcuations,...they could be off,because I cant remember what size my gas tank is,...I thought it was a 18 `er,...maybe it is less.

I`ll have to go see when I do the oil change and tune up on it here in the next couple hours.

I`ll let ya know what I find.
Also by the way everyone check out the "swap shop " forum,...I have a deal there I am ryin to make,if anyone is interested.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Good luck on the interview.

The way to check your gas mileage is to fill it up. reset the trip odometer. Drive it till you need gas. Then fill it up again. Devide the miles shown on the trip odometer by the Gallons that you put in.

Ouila! MPG.

Jabba

Yep, that is the simple calculation Jabba and I use it all the time to make sure that the cars are getting good gas mileage.

I reset the trip odometer at every fill up and if it ever falls below a certain mile amount I start to worry and try to find out what is wrong.

With the F-350, life is easy because it has a computer that automatically gives me the continuous mpg as I drive.

HEHEHE,....I aint got one of those
 

Sorry guys but I am a "simple" person,..lolol !
I dont have one of those trip resetters.
I haveto do it the old fashion way.

Write down my beginning mileage and then write my ending mileage when I need gas and then go from there.

As for the interview,it seemed to go ok but he said he would like to Deliberate on it and get back to me,..until then I am employed,..I`ll just have to drive a few miles to get there,...for now.


Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

******UPDATE******
 

DECLINING Gas prices,...are here at this time in the Upstate NY area.

At the present time in the Hudson Falls and Fort Edward area 87 Octane is at a low price of $2.65 a gal.

Hopefully the downward trend will continue as the weeks go on and that there wont be anymore weather related tragities in any of our near futures.

I guess a man can hope huh?! lolol!

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

HOPES?!!
 

looks like a man can Hope,.but it aint goin to do any good.

Katrina is about to hit the New Orleans area,..and it looks like gas prices will probly soar upwards again.

So basically it looks like we all need to prepare ourselves for yet another hit to our wallets,and or pocket books.

Maybe late fall will bring us some relief, but it is very doubtful at this point.

Okay gotta go fill up,...

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Katrina Rises GAS PRICES,........
 

Gas prices are on the rise ,BIG TIME!

A barrel of gas is going for $70.80.Just got the update on my profile.
Meaning that a gal. of gas could be well over $3.00 a gal very soon.As soon as Monday evening or even afternoon.

I watched a movie on Discovery about a month ago or so,...it looks like it was telling our future to the "T",..so far anyways,..it hasnt missed a beat.

I really need to consider gettin a horse and wagon.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~:confused:

Check this out everyone,funny
 

Here`s a site you all should check out,..
it could releave some stress,...and make fun of our current situation,,....check it out,...

http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/178/



Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

What are gas prices now?
 

This was a pretty hot topic a few short months ago. People everywhere were preaching a lot of doom and gloom on gas prices. $3, $4, $5 per gallon were all being predicted.

What are you paying for gas these days?

I paid $1.75 in Indianapolis on Sunday, and locally its $1.99 as of today.

I just paid $2.11, but my wife can find it in Gainesville, VA for less than $2 and I saw it in Frederick, MD at $1.99 over the weekend.

The decrease in gas prices has consumer confidence up. As a result, retailers are hoping for a pretty good Christmas season.

fabs, a young stud like you should know better, there is no "christmas" season anymore thanks to the aclu. it's now called the "holiday" season. shame, shame. even us folks who live on the prairie know that.

good lord knows how many people you injured or offended by refering to that. more shame.

i guess thanksgiving will be next, it offends the other side in our celebration and festive holiday. boo hoo hoo. i wonder if all the tribes will in time set a day of fast for thanksgiving day? sounds like a good idea to me.

probably should get rid of the fourth of july also. it must be terribly offensive to the british that we ran them out of the u.s and set up a government under judeo christian principles. i can't begin to imagine the mental stress they go through every fourth of july. more boo hoo hoo.

BY THE WAY, JUST IN CASE I'M INCAPACITATED OR MY COMPUTER CRASHES, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS AND LET US NOT FORGET THE TRUE MEANING OF CELEBRATING JESUS'S BIRTHDAY. PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO MAN IS STILL IN VOGUE. OR SHOULD BE.

GOD BLESS.

Billy,

What is sad is that at first I typed holiday season out of habit and then said screw it, went back, and put Christmas in there. Not because I don't believe in the holiday season greeting (i.e., all my holiday cards say Happy Holidays on them for my office), but because Christmas was more appropriate (i.e., I believe it has more to do with the commercialization of the season than anything else. You rarely find minoras on sale in late October/early November).

What kills me about the Christmas season is the sheer amount of commercialization that goes with it. I wonder if it was like this 100 years ago. Yesterday, I had a mailbox full of catalogs. One was a Cabelas last minute Christmas catalog, like the Cabelas Christmas catalog I received a week ago wasn't enough.

Quite honestly, I despise Christmas because of the money aspect of it. I try to boycott the money aspect of it, but I don't think I am having much effect on it. Kind of like my boycott of professional sports. Was I ever surprised to find out that the leagues can continue on without my support.

At the end of the day, it still is a holiday season and I don't mean to offend anybody. I just think that Christmas is the season that has the most to do with the gift giving and REQUIRED money spending.

Everybody please have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year, and Happy Holiday season, but above all else, stay safe.

fabs

i was not admonishing you, i was just being acidic about the way 'christmas" is being stomped on and out, and like you say "commercialized". like if you don't spend a gazzilion dollars on the day after thanksgiving you are some kind of social misfit.

to me christmas is about the religious theme more than the buying. although the gift giving is a "good thing", it's not the most important thing. at least to me anyway. but i'm a strange duck.

i spent many christmas days far away from home and family and the thing i missed the most was not the lavishness but the time to be with with loved ones and celebrate by going to church and a special christmas meal. that was christmas. one thing i learned in my 68 christmases was k.i.s.s., it ain't about us it's about the birth of jesus. thats what my parents taught me.

Here in Central Ohio,..
 

Gas prices here in the buckeye range around or from $1.89 to about $2.04 a gal.

Alot better then NY where I was living.

Well thought I would chime in ,gotta go see whats going on in other forums and postings,.......

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Wolvie,

Glad to see you back on the board.