wildly fluctuating gas prices? (St. Louis: home, live, cheapest) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

zac100 · 10-28-2010, 09:14 AM

I moved to STL in July, and have been VERY perplexed by the changes in gas prices here. Here's what I've noticed seems to be the trend. Gas prices drop about 1 or 2 cents at a time for a week or two, and then they shoot up 20 cents (or more!) in a single day. In the last couple of weeks, I've been watching the gas stations on my way to work gradually creep down to 2.48...and then yesterday on my way HOME from work, they had all shot up to 2.69. Granted, I've only got four months of St. Louis gas prices under my belt, but this kind of large change seems to be more the norm than the exception.

I've lived in Pennsylvania and New York for my entire (driving) life, and this just doesn't happen in those states. Yes, there will be particular times when the gas prices shoot up 10-15 cents in a day (usually right before a holiday weekend, beginning of summer, etc), but it doesn't happen as a regular course.

Is this the norm for St. Louis? Or has it been an exceptionally unstable 4-month period that I've been witnessing? (Even at 2.69, it's still roughly 30 cents cheaper than it was where I moved from, so I can't really complain...but it's very odd to me.)

Any thoughts?

loki03xlh · 10-28-2010, 10:11 AM

It is the norm on the IL side. Here gas drops 1-2 pennies at a time, then usually on tuesday afternoon, the weekly jump takes place. A lot of the times, it is a 15-20 cent increase. This week was different. The waited until Wednesday to jump 22 cents.

latetotheparty · 10-28-2010, 12:04 PM

been like that for a LONG time ...... just an informal observation by me.... gas prices will USUALLY do their jump up in the late morning to early afternoon of mondays, tuesdays or thursdays...... although this week, it happened on wednesday......

zac100 · 10-28-2010, 12:52 PM

Wow...good to know! And thanks for the tips on the days when I should watch for it -- that'll help me time my fill-ups in the future.

Any idea why it's this way? Again, my geographical background is somewhat limited (eastern US my entire life) -- is this a "midwest thing?" Why does it change so dramatically?

aragx6 · 10-28-2010, 01:06 PM

I knew a friend who worked at a gas station who was allowed to change the price of gas up or down something like 3 cents whenever he wanted just to spur business, so my guess is that the little fluctuations you see aren't part of a broader pricing structure and don't necessarily play out around the metro (You don't see all Quik trip's raise their price 2 cents for example) ie. stations around the metro will vary based on their immediate, local competition)

Most of the time when gas goes up or down based on a larger corporate pricing structure it's by a minimum of a dime. Those are those bigger swings you see of 10-20 cents.

Maybe it's a midwest thing, i'm not in a position to know given all the cities I've lived in and driven in extensively have been midwestern, but I'm wondering why it matters, I guess? Even if you have a 20-gallon gas tank, a difference of three cents will still only cost you 60 cents more per fill up.

moorlander · 10-31-2010, 02:01 PM

St. Louis routinely has the among the cheapest gas prices in the country. I wouldn't complain.

latetotheparty · 11-01-2010, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aragx6

I knew a friend who worked at a gas station who was allowed to change the price of gas up or down something like 3 cents whenever he wanted just to spur business, so my guess is that the little fluctuations you see aren't part of a broader pricing structure and don't necessarily play out around the metro (You don't see all Quik trip's raise their price 2 cents for example) ie. stations around the metro will vary based on their immediate, local competition)

Most of the time when gas goes up or down based on a larger corporate pricing structure it's by a minimum of a dime. Those are those bigger swings you see of 10-20 cents.

Maybe it's a midwest thing, i'm not in a position to know given all the cities I've lived in and driven in extensively have been midwestern, but I'm wondering why it matters, I guess? Even if you have a 20-gallon gas tank, a difference of three cents will still only cost you 60 cents more per fill up.

yeah... but that same 20 gallon tank will cost you $4 more for each $.20 increase.and $5 more for each $.25 increase..... and i am starting to see the $.02 and $.03 drops are taking longer to occur.... remember $4 per gallon?? that crept up with the $.20-$.25 increases followed by $.02 and $.03 decreases..... but the decreases never got the price back to where it was at the last increase before the next $.20-$.25 increase.....

aragx6 · 11-01-2010, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by latetotheparty

yeah... but that same 20 gallon tank will cost you $4 more for each $.20 increase.and $5 more for each $.25 increase..... and i am starting to see the $.02 and $.03 drops are taking longer to occur.... remember $4 per gallon?? that crept up with the $.20-$.25 increases followed by $.02 and $.03 decreases..... but the decreases never got the price back to where it was at the last increase before the next $.20-$.25 increase.....

Oh I totally understand that, but natonwide prices have been creeping up too. It's those little fluctuations that imo aren't much worth concerning oneself over.

zac100 · 11-12-2010, 08:05 AM

Yeah, I'm not concerned about the 2 and 3 cent fluctuations. It's the relative unpredictability (to my observation, at least) of when the 20 cent increase will occur. Even though some people have said here that they usually occur at the beginning of the week, it occurred on a Wednesday a couple weeks ago, and on Thursday this week (yesterday). Maybe the trend of when that occurs is changing, too.

And of course, they're rising everywhere. Even in my original post I said that I just moved here from upstate NY, where I would have been thrilled to find a gas price below $2.90, so I'm finding it hard to complain. Just trying to figure out the system here, since I've never encountered this kind of price change as the norm.

Thanks for your replies, everyone!

NeoJudus · 11-12-2010, 10:05 AM

Well, enjoy the lower gas prices in this part of the country. I drive over a 300 mile radius from the city, and the prices in St. Louis City and County are the best. The price will fall about 1 to 2 cents a day for no more than 2 weeks. After that expect a 15 to 20 cent upward swing.

The cause is the Wood River Refinery. ALL local gas comes from that location. The proprietary additive (i.e. Shell V-Power, QT, Mobil, etc. .) is added later. Every couple of week, the refinery has a slow production day for a variety of reasons. The place runs at about 98% capacity all of the time. Any little hiccup will cause a price spike. Since I drive between 35,000 to 40,000 miles a year, every penny does matter to me. Expect a gas spike around Nov. 23rd.