I've posted on this before but it's getting worse here.
It used to be 10 cents per gallon difference from 87 octane to 89 octane and another 10 cents to 91+ octane. Then saw a spike in the difference to 20 cents per gallon difference....then 30 cents.
A bit surprised today when filling up.....80 cents difference from "regular" 87 to 91 premium.
It's not a financial burden as such but it does **** me off as to what the petro dealers are doing.
Anybody else?

 

Same here, Shell 80 cents more.

 

As gas prices collapse, high-octane fuel fetches unusually fat premium

By Michael Santoli January 14, 2015 10:05 AM





The oil-price crash has provided dramatic relief for pain at the pump. But drivers who like to fill up with premium-grade gasoline are feeling a twinge of discomfort as they’re asked to pay an unusually hefty added charge for the good stuff.

With U.S. crude-oil prices collapsing from near $100 per barrel last summer to below $45, the average national retail price for regular unleaded gasoline has tanked by 43% since June 30 to $2.07 per gallon this week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. High-octane premium gas dropped, on average, by only 37% to $2.49 a gallon.

As a result, the price spread between premium and regular unleaded has spiked to a record high above 40 cents a gallon, as the chart below makes clear.




The fat premium that’s now being demanded for premium is one more reason for most drivers to stick to plain old 87-octane regular – which is perfectly fine for the vast majority of recent-model cars.

On a percentage basis, premium gas is now more expensive vs. regular than at virtually any time in the past two decades. The last time premium was priced more than 20% above regular was a brief stretch in 1998 – when regular unleaded cost just over $1 a gallon.

The reasons for the widening price between regular and what used to be known as “high test” involve demand, supply and chemistry.

Regular unleaded accounts for close to 90% of all gasoline sold in the U.S., which means that refineries are geared to maximize its production and retail outlets compete most directly based on its price.

Because premium-gasoline buyers -- mostly owners of expensive, high-performance cars – are already geared toward paying extra, gas stations feel less pressure to slash those prices as quickly. In this way, the market for gasoline reflects the broader consumer economy: There is some pricing power at the high end, while most retailers are aggressive in catering to the value buyer.

And because premium makes up such a small portion of the gas sold, retail inventories don’t turn over as quickly. This means retailers might have more high-octane fuel on hand that was bought when oil prices were higher, so premium grades don’t re-price as quickly as petroleum prices fall.

A widening gap

Even before excess global supply and OPEC’s refusal to curtail production crushed the oil market and drove pump prices down late last year, the gap between regular and premium grades had widened beyond the historical norm.

For this, car-pampering motorists can blame one of the same factors that has made energy cheaper for everyone: the boom in North American shale oil.

It turns out that the type of crude drawn from shale formations is rich in low-octane chemical components and therefore far easier to refine into regular unleaded. Foreign-sourced oil, such as the kind that OPEC producers supply, is easier to turn into high-octane premium.

There was an expectation in the industry last fall that once seasonal refinery maintenance was completed before year-end, the output of premium gas could catch up and close the price spread. But it seems the oil selloff has dragged regular unleaded prices lower so quickly that the spread has, in fact, grown a bit.


This need not be a concern for most drivers, of course. Most cars are built to run on regular gas, and using premium grades won't boost performance or fuel efficiency.

While some luxury and sports cars with high-compression engines still recommend the use of high-octane grades to avoid “knocking and pinging,” even many high-end models today have software to adjust ignition timing to suppress such noises.

More than ever, it pays to be cheap at the pump these days.

 

At less than $3.00 a gallon with a car that gets 32 mpg on the highway all I've got to say is: big deal.

Leaving tomorrow (Tuesday 29 September) on a 2,000 mile road trip in the car I split the DD duties that only gets 20 mpg on good days, 18.5 on bad..... but who cares, it's a Ferrari!

 

Thank goodness for Costco. Last week:

regular $1.949
premium (93) $2.349

Both are Top Tier

 

CostCo the best price around here. Last week 93 octane was 2.26, this week it is now 2.44. Within the last month I bought 93 there as low as 2.16. They typically maintain a spread of .40-.44 between 87 and 93 here in Northern Ohio, where CostCo also does not offer a mid-grade between the two - don't know if that is the exception or the rule.

 

Buying a $70k car that gets great mileage and then complaining about record low gas prices is pretty funny.

 

Was filling up my DD today and the difference between regular and premium was 50 cents.

 

The good news here in California, the price spread between Regular and Premium is still only about 20 cents a gallon. The bad news is we have a 75 cent a gallon CO2 tax implemented by this one party state last January 1, so we have the highest gas prices in the nation, even higher than the Hawaiian Islands.

Michael

 

That is wrong. It was a 20 cent difference at Shell the last time I was in the states. Then again, gas was also 4.75 for premium back then. Here in Italy, with conversions, its around 7$ for a gallon

 

When the gas prices started skyrocketing years ago the traditional 10 cent difference between the grades started to stretch. Probably 50-60 cents across the grades in my area.

 

 

With the prices being so low lately, I've not compared the price differences between the various grades of gas. Being a captive to the big oil companies we will pay either whatever they charge or walk.

To your point, rather unethical for the price spread to increase while oil prices drop along with the lower graded gas prices. But we are dealing with big oil where ethics never enters the conversation, only the bottom line is considered.

Getting pissed about big oil and their business model does nothing to change the dynamic. They are the producer and we are the consumer, we pay what they charge.

Remember the day when oil prices were at $149 per barrel and gas was $2.66 a gallon with a dime spread between grades? We told big oil was only making about 8% profit. Try and make the those numbers work with today's prices.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Winston Churchill

 

Paid 2.15 for 93 octane at a local Kroger yesterday

 

We're definitely not in the 90's era of gas prices. This is the new standard! Thankfully, most of us (Corvette owners) don't really have to worry about money so that's a positive...

 

The ones who have to worry about it are the thousands of unemployed domestic oil workers.

Most of us have more than one car. My Vette uses premium, but the others use regular. Either way it is rediculously cheap.

 

Filled up yesterday with 93 octane did not take note of the difference from regular. Bottom line sure as hell cheaper than a year ago.

 

That's what the gas stations & oil companies are banking on. People see the low, low, low price for regular and don't notice how much more expensive premium is.

 

.40 to .60 spread around here.

 

I've seen the spread more than a buck. There is always someone out there trying to screw the consumer. Many folks only look at the price for regular and just assume that premium will follow suit.