NACS shares resources that can help explain how the shutdown could affect fuel retailing
By NACS Online // September 16, 2019
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Saturday drone strike that caused a massive fire and shut down half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production facilities could affect global oil supply and prices in the coming days—and that also could affect fuel retailers around the world.
There are plenty of unknowns related to the shutdown, and uncertainly often ripples through trading markets. The shutdown directly affected nearly 6% of the world’s supply of oil, and there are some reports that production could resume in a matter of days. But, concerns over markets—as opposed to actual market conditions—are often as much in play in determining crude oil prices.
NACS has developed resources to help explain the fuels retailing market as part of its Fuels Resource Center. This resource provides backgrounders on a slew of topics, including fuels prices, operations, consumer insights, disaster response and recovery and statistics/historical context.
Of particular interest to retailers is the section focused on prices, which includes:
- The Price Per Gallon
No matter who owns the station, retail fuels prices are ultimately determined by four sets of costs: crude oil, taxes, refining costs and distribution and marketing. - Why Gas Prices Vary Around the Country or the Corner
Gas prices often vary from state to state or town to town because of three main reasons: taxes, fuel blends and margins. - Changing Seasons, Changing Gas Prices
Refinery maintenance, production of summer-blend fuels and consumer demand can affect gasoline prices in the springtime.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will be communicating our industry’s message to the media. The key metric to cite is that with 42 gallons in a barrel of oil, every $1 price increase in a barrel translates to a 2.4-cent per gallon increase in the price of that oil,” said NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard.
For more on gasoline prices , see the “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” latest blog from the Fuels Institute.
