It’s The Speculators, That’s Why!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

From the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat-Chronicle, “Slaughter asks oil giants to explain why N.Y. pays more for gasoline“:

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter is looking to some of the world’s major oil companiesfor answers as to why western New York motorists pay more at the pump than drivers in other states.

The Fairport Democrat’s office released a copy of a letter sent today to the heads of Sunoco Inc., Citgo Petroleum Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp., asking why there is a price discrepancy between local filling stations and average prices in New Jersey and Massachusetts.”I … am deeply worried about the many western New Yorkers forced to choose between putting food on the table and filling their gas tank to travel to work,” Slaughter wrote in the letter.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular in New Jersey is $1.51, while in Massachusetts it is $1.63. In the Rochester area, it is $1.78.

One reason for the difference is taxes. According to the American Petroleum Institute, New Yorkers pay nearly 61 cents in state and federal taxes on a gallon of gas, compared with roughly 32 cents in New Jersey and 42 cents in Massachusetts.

You know, we haven’t had an FTC study of gas prices in a good, oh, six months at least.


Posted @ 8:18 am | Category: Energy | Author: Carter Wood | Tags: , | No Comments

A Second Bretton Woods Conference

Sunday, December 28, 2008

The economy is put again on firm footing…or at least packed snow. From the Manchester Union-Leader, “A perfect storm seen for ski vacation week“:

At the Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods, tourists waited on the golf course for their turn behind teams of sled dogs.

More than 50 sled dogs were lined up in hitches of eight, apparently eager to take to the fields of snow.

Across the street at Bretton Woods ski area, snowboarders and skiers were enjoying frozen granular and packed powder on more than 70 of the resort’s 101 trails. Rain on Christmas Eve and subsequent cold temperatures made for a harder surface, but little of the depth was lost in most locations.

The entire 100-kilometer trail network at the Bretton Woods Nordic Center was open yesterday.

Global climate change to thank? Perhaps, but it’s more likely that low gas prices are providing the big push for the economy:

Gas is about $1.70 a gallon in Central New Hampshire, compared with about $4 a gallon during the last major holiday period, the Fourth of July.


Posted @ 8:13 pm | Category: Energy | Author: Carter Wood | Tags: | No Comments

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