Puzzled At The Pump

[Anonymous]

Consumers aren’t getting a big share of the rewards from new supplies of American oil.
Oil producers are making money from new supplies. Governments are getting lots of new tax revenue.
Several refiners, meanwhile, are buying low and selling high. They’re getting new supplies of U.S. crude oil at discounts of about $20 a barrel off the world price. But they’re selling gasoline at prices that reflect the global crude oil price.
That’s a difference of more than 50 cents a gallon.
John Powell, a senior petroleum market analyst with the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said U.S. gasoline prices reflect what the market will bear.  If New York is importing European gasoline priced to reflect higher European crude oil acquisition costs, gasoline made at refineries in Texas will move to New York unless it can be sold for a similar price in Texas.
Refiners “go with whatever the highest-price market is that they can physically move the oil to,” Powell said. “Whether it’s Brazil, Mexico or New York, it will go to the highest-price market available – which is what you or I would do if we were running that particular business.”
 
Read more at http://www.downstreamtoday.com/News/article.aspx?a_id=38554

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