why is it that no matter how high the regular grade gas goes the mid grade is always .10 more and the premium is always .20 more? just wondering why it always stays that ratio....
a perplexing Q about mid and premium pricing
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As prices go up, that $.10c becomes meaningless in overall costs. I'm going with mids more often now.
Same here, .10 a gallon only comes out to a dollar per 10 gallon and It really does seem to make the truck more peppy.About every 3rd tank, I get the V power, I figure the extra cost is about the same as buying a bottle of fuel injector cleaner.
Here in North Dakota we have:
regular 87 octane no alcohol
mid-grade 89 octane 10% alcohol
premium 91 octane no alcohol
Currenly our mid grade is .10 cheaper than the regular. For the past year our 89 midgrade with 10% alcolhol has varied from the same price as regular to .15 cheaper per gallon. The midgrade has never been more than regular, at least in the past 12 months or so.
regular 87 octane no alcohol
mid-grade 89 octane 10% alcohol
premium 91 octane no alcohol
Currenly our mid grade is .10 cheaper than the regular. For the past year our 89 midgrade with 10% alcolhol has varied from the same price as regular to .15 cheaper per gallon. The midgrade has never been more than regular, at least in the past 12 months or so.
Big Brother, a very good question. It has always showed me that gasoline pricing is a shell game and not so much a supply and demand deal as many would have you believe.
Ross,
So your midgrade isn't a mix of regular & premium that is typical? Do they have a separate storage tank for it?
So your midgrade isn't a mix of regular & premium that is typical? Do they have a separate storage tank for it?
Ethenol maybe heavily subsidised there.
Where I get gasoline, mid grade is often priced the same as regular, but it's just the one chain; most stations/stores price the mid level between regular and premium.
Remeber though; it only costs about 3¢ more to make premium than it does regular. The rest of the 17¢ is profit.
Where I get gasoline, mid grade is often priced the same as regular, but it's just the one chain; most stations/stores price the mid level between regular and premium.
Remeber though; it only costs about 3¢ more to make premium than it does regular. The rest of the 17¢ is profit.
Originally Posted By: bigbrother8
why is it that no matter how high the regular grade gas goes the mid grade is always .10 more and the premium is always .20 more? just wondering why it always stays that ratio....
Ha. I wish premium were only .20 more per gallon than regular. Back when the regular was $1.50 - 2.00, maybe, but now I see .30 to .35 more. Almost 12% surcharge.
For a premium-using car with a 18.5 gallon tank, that would be almost $6.50 more per fillup -- and if you fill up 25 times a year, that's over $150 you could have used on oil changes or other minor things . . . like food.
It's a shell game, all right. (No pun intended, V-Power users.)
why is it that no matter how high the regular grade gas goes the mid grade is always .10 more and the premium is always .20 more? just wondering why it always stays that ratio....
Ha. I wish premium were only .20 more per gallon than regular. Back when the regular was $1.50 - 2.00, maybe, but now I see .30 to .35 more. Almost 12% surcharge.
For a premium-using car with a 18.5 gallon tank, that would be almost $6.50 more per fillup -- and if you fill up 25 times a year, that's over $150 you could have used on oil changes or other minor things . . . like food.
It's a shell game, all right. (No pun intended, V-Power users.)
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Originally Posted By: bigbrother8
why is it that no matter how high the regular grade gas goes the mid grade is always .10 more and the premium is always .20 more? just wondering why it always stays that ratio....
Ha. I wish premium were only .20 more per gallon than regular. Back when the regular was $1.50 - 2.00, maybe, but now I see .30 to .35 more. Almost 12% surcharge.
not out here in california its usually .10 and .20 more for the mid/premium grades, it might be .10 and .22 or .23 but .23 more than regular is the most ive ever seen it. maybee its a california thing because were already getting rheemed at the pumps. were up to 3.32 for the cheapest gallon of regular around my parts.
Originally Posted By: bigbrother8
why is it that no matter how high the regular grade gas goes the mid grade is always .10 more and the premium is always .20 more? just wondering why it always stays that ratio....
Ha. I wish premium were only .20 more per gallon than regular. Back when the regular was $1.50 - 2.00, maybe, but now I see .30 to .35 more. Almost 12% surcharge.
not out here in california its usually .10 and .20 more for the mid/premium grades, it might be .10 and .22 or .23 but .23 more than regular is the most ive ever seen it. maybee its a california thing because were already getting rheemed at the pumps. were up to 3.32 for the cheapest gallon of regular around my parts.
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Remeber though; it only costs about 3¢ more to make premium than it does regular. The rest of the 17¢ is profit.
Not for the wholesaler or retailer, at least not around here.
I have my price sheet for todays date right in front of me (el cheapo unbranded fuel), and at our local pipeline terminal the wholesale price for premium 91 AKI unleaded is exactly twenty cents higher than the wholesale price for 87 AKI unleaded.
Often, 91 AKI is only sold for a ten cent premium around here, so the 87 AKI is typically a more profitable sale for the retailer.
Remeber though; it only costs about 3¢ more to make premium than it does regular. The rest of the 17¢ is profit.
Not for the wholesaler or retailer, at least not around here.
I have my price sheet for todays date right in front of me (el cheapo unbranded fuel), and at our local pipeline terminal the wholesale price for premium 91 AKI unleaded is exactly twenty cents higher than the wholesale price for 87 AKI unleaded.
Often, 91 AKI is only sold for a ten cent premium around here, so the 87 AKI is typically a more profitable sale for the retailer.
The base cost of the fuel is rising, but the additive remain the same.
So the difference in fuel grades stays the same [until they figure out that they can get away with charging more].
So the difference in fuel grades stays the same [until they figure out that they can get away with charging more].
To attempt to answer the original question:
We don't see a proportional increase in the cost of premium compared to regular since the price of crude oil has the largest effect on the price we see at the pumps.
The cost to REFINE the crude to premium gas remains only a few cents more than regular, hence the constant difference.
This would be unfair:
Regular $2.00 --> $4.00 (100% increase)
Premium $2.20 --> $4.40 (100% increase)
Instead we see:
Regular $2.00 --> $4.00 (100% increase)
Premium $2.20 --> $4.20 (91% increase)
...since the refining cost of premium relative to regular is constant.
We don't see a proportional increase in the cost of premium compared to regular since the price of crude oil has the largest effect on the price we see at the pumps.
The cost to REFINE the crude to premium gas remains only a few cents more than regular, hence the constant difference.
This would be unfair:
Regular $2.00 --> $4.00 (100% increase)
Premium $2.20 --> $4.40 (100% increase)
Instead we see:
Regular $2.00 --> $4.00 (100% increase)
Premium $2.20 --> $4.20 (91% increase)
...since the refining cost of premium relative to regular is constant.
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It's not constant around here. If prices are stable ..premium goes up to a .30+ premium (midgrade goes up too). When they're in flux ..it comes down to a +.10 for midgrade ..+.20 for premium. I reason that when prices are stable the rest of the local economy reacts and things get back to normal habits ..but when the prices upramp radically, it creates a glut of premium ..making it more attractive.
That's just my reasoning based on observations of the ultra high volume retailers that we have around here. We have several convenience store chains that get multiple deliveries a day.
That's just my reasoning based on observations of the ultra high volume retailers that we have around here. We have several convenience store chains that get multiple deliveries a day.
I notice that Shell usually has a higher difference between premium and regular than other brands, sometimes 23 c or so.
Originally Posted By: benjamming
Ross,
So your midgrade isn't a mix of regular & premium that is typical? Do they have a separate storage tank for it?
Around my area (Metro NYC area) almost all stations except Sunoco have three different tanks for the three grades. All grades of our gas on the NE coast has 10% ethanol, as per the EPA.
Drew
Ross,
So your midgrade isn't a mix of regular & premium that is typical? Do they have a separate storage tank for it?
Around my area (Metro NYC area) almost all stations except Sunoco have three different tanks for the three grades. All grades of our gas on the NE coast has 10% ethanol, as per the EPA.
Drew
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Here they have three tanks too. Two are for regular and one for premium. That's the way my old Sunoco was too. Two tanks for 190 and one tank of 260.
Think of it this way... if all grades cost the same, everyone would buy Premium, even if their car didn't call for it. The Premium would be sold out and the other two grades would sit and get stale.
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