stocktrademan
10 years ago
$PTRY DD Notes ~ http://www.ddnotesmaker.com/PTRY
$PTRY recent news/filings
## source: finance.yahoo.com
Tue, 21 Oct 2014 22:02:21 GMT ~ Nasdaq stocks posting largest percentage increases
read full: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/nasdaq-stocks-posting-largest-percentage-220237991--finance.html
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Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:21:18 GMT ~ Will Pantry (PTRY) Continue to Surge Higher?
read full: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pantry-ptry-continue-surge-higher-112118002.html
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Tue, 07 Oct 2014 12:17:43 GMT ~ PANTRY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Results of Operations and Financial Condition, Financial Statements and Exhibits
read full: http://biz.yahoo.com/e/141007/ptry8-k.html
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Tue, 07 Oct 2014 12:00:00 GMT ~ The Pantry Presents Preliminary Results at the Wells Fargo 2014 Convenience Store Forum
[GlobeNewswire] - CARY, N.C. -- Dennis Hatchell, Chief Executive Officer of The Pantry, Inc. , will be speaking to the investment community today at the Wells Fargo Securities Research, Economics & Strategy 2014 Convenience ...
read full: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pantry-presents-preliminary-results-wells-120000386.html
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Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:32:14 GMT ~ The Pantry to Present at the Wells Fargo 2014 Convenience Store Forum
[GlobeNewswire] - CARY, N.C. -- Dennis Hatchell, Chief Executive Officer of The Pantry, Inc. , will speak to the investment community at 2:10 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Securities Research, ...
read full: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pantry-present-wells-fargo-2014-203214416.html
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$PTRY charts
basic chart ## source: stockcharts.com
basic chart ## source: stockscores.com
big daily chart ## source: stockcharts.com
big weekly chart ## source: stockcharts.com
$PTRY company information
## source: otcmarkets.com
Link: http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/company-info
Ticker: $PTRY
OTC Market Place: Not Available
CIK code: 0000915862
Company name: Pantry, Inc. (THE)
Incorporated In: DE, USA
$PTRY share structure
## source: otcmarkets.com
Market Value: $566,639,208 a/o Oct 21, 2014
Shares Outstanding: 23,443,906 a/o Jul 24, 2014
Float: Not Available
Authorized Shares: Not Available
Par Value: 0.01
$PTRY extra dd links
Company name: Pantry, Inc. (THE)
## STOCK DETAILS ##
After Hours Quote (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/after-hours
Option Chain (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/option-chain
Historical Prices (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=PTRY+Historical+Prices
Company Profile (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=PTRY+Profile
Industry (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/in?s=PTRY+Industry
## COMPANY NEWS ##
Market Stream (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/stream
Latest news (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/news - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=PTRY+Headlines
## STOCK ANALYSIS ##
Analyst Research (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/analyst-research
Guru Analysis (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/guru-analysis
Stock Report (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/stock-report
Competitors (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/competitors
Stock Consultant (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/stock-consultant
Stock Comparison (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/stock-comparison
Investopedia (investopedia.com): http://www.investopedia.com/markets/stocks/PTRY/?wa=0
Research Reports (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/research
Basic Tech. Analysis (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=PTRY+Basic+Tech.+Analysis
Barchart (barchart.com): http://www.barchart.com/quotes/stocks/PTRY
DTCC (dtcc.com): http://search2.dtcc.com/?q=Pantry%2C+Inc.+%28THE%29&x=10&y=8&sp_p=all&sp_f=ISO-8859-1
Spoke company information (spoke.com): http://www.spoke.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Pantry%2C+Inc.+%28THE%29
Corporation WIKI (corporationwiki.com): http://www.corporationwiki.com/search/results?term=Pantry%2C+Inc.+%28THE%29&x=0&y=0
## FUNDAMENTALS ##
Call Transcripts (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/call-transcripts
Annual Report (companyspotlight.com): http://www.companyspotlight.com/library/companies/keyword/PTRY
Income Statement (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/financials?query=income-statement
Revenue/EPS (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/revenue-eps
SEC Filings (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/sec-filings
Edgar filings (sec.gov): http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000915862&owner=exclude&count=40
Latest filings (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/filings
Latest financials (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/financials
Short Interest (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/short-interest
Dividend History (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/dividend-history
RegSho (regsho.com): http://www.regsho.com/tools/symbol_stats.php?sym=PTRY&search=search
OTC Short Report (otcshortreport.com): http://otcshortreport.com/index.php?index=PTRY
Short Sales (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/short-sales
Key Statistics (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=PTRY+Key+Statistics
Insider Roster (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ir?s=PTRY+Insider+Roster
Income Statement (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=PTRY
Balance Sheet (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=PTRY
Cash Flow (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=PTRY+Cash+Flow&annual
## HOLDINGS ##
Major holdings (cnbc.com): http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/PTRY/tab/8.1
Insider transactions (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/it?s=PTRY+Insider+Transactions
Insider transactions (secform4.com): http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/PTRY.htm
Insider transactions (insidercrow.com): http://www.insidercow.com/history/company.jsp?company=PTRY
Ownership Summary (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/ownership-summary
Institutional Holdings (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/institutional-holdings
Insiders (SEC Form 4) (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/PTRY/insider-trades
Insider Disclosure (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PTRY/insider-transactions
## SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER VARIOUS SOURCES ##
PST (pennystocktweets.com): http://www.pennystocktweets.com/stocks/profile/PTRY
Market Watch (marketwatch.com): http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/PTRY
Bloomberg (bloomberg.com): http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/PTRY:US
Morningstar (morningstar.com): http://quotes.morningstar.com/stock/s?t=PTRY
Bussinessweek (businessweek.com): http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ticker=PTRY
$PTRY DD Notes ~ http://www.ddnotesmaker.com/PTRY
NumberOne
15 years ago
Payday for Petro Express?
June 22, 2009 - 2:40 PM
Kevin Ellis and Calli Turner
The employees were there. The store's region manager was there. The TV news vans were there. The North Carolina Education Lottery Commission was there.
But the winner of $88.1 million in Saturday's Powerball drawing was no where in sight Monday
That could change soon as lottery officials expect the mystery man to come forward Tuesday.
"He's supposed to be at the lottery headquarters at 12:30," said Pam Walker, spokeswoman for the North Carolina lottery.
Walker said lottery officials talked to the man, but declined to offer a clue about his identity. She said he plans to make a statement to the media.
"I can't release (his name) until he's ready for us to release it," Walker said Monday night.
But even without the guest of honor, the party played on Monday at the Kings Mountain store that sold the winning ticket.
Excited employees and rushed production crews crowded the Petro Express on Cleveland Avenue in Kings Mountain Monday afternoon. The Lottery commission arrived just short of 4 p.m. to announce that the store had sold the winning $88.1 million Powerball ticket. But the Kings Mountain residents were left wondering, "Who has the ticket?"
Jennifer Seay, the Petro Express employee who checked the winning ticket Sunday, said she thought the lucky gentleman was from the Kings Mountain area, because he purchased his soft drinks at the convenience store. She said the winner is in his 50s, and wasn't a regular customer at the store. Seay did not know his name and his identity remains a mystery.
Seay said the man with the winning ticket was understandably excited when he realized he had won."He went crazy. He jumped up a couple of times. Yelled and got on the phone with someone," Seay said. "I tried to calm him down before he left. I said, 'Sir, calm down before you leave.'"
That was the last time Seay saw the mystery man.
The North Carolina Education Lottery has additional validation procedures for winners of more than $100,000 and especially for jackpot winners, Walker said. The Powerball winner must go to the Commission's headquarters in Raleigh to claim the ticket. Walker said Monday the man may have been on his way to claim the ticket, while the Commission was making the announcement at the Petro Express.
Jack Swain, the region manager for The Pantry Inc. - the company that owns Petro Express - said the company received a call from the Commission at 10:30 a.m. Monday alerting them to the excitement to ensue. He said the company was glad the money would help the education system and would remain in the community.Between the aisles of snack cakes and rows and candy bars, locals crowded in to get a glimpse at the excitement. Linda Moss had the afternoon off from the convenience store, but stopped by the Petro Express with her granddaughter Chelse Hale to share in the excitement. "We heard somebody had won the lottery, and we came done here to see who had won it," Moss said.
Unfortunately, Moss, her granddaughter and the rest of Kings Mountain will have to wait until that person comes forward. Until then, Kings Mountain residents might want to consider being extra nice to their neighbors.
----
I think PE will get a cash payout from the lottery because they sold the winning ticket but I could be mistaken.
makesumgravy
15 years ago
STOCK ANALYSIS
The Pantry Is Bare (PTRY)
November 25, 2008 | By Eugene BukoveczkyNews that gasoline prices have now fallen below $2 a gallon to a national average of $1.97 according to the Lundberg survey has to be one of the few bits of good news amongst the daily deluge of gloom about the economy and the markets hitting the headlines lately.
However, lower gas prices are not welcome news for everyone, especially when they're a result of lower demand. Consider the case of gas station and convenience store operator The Pantry (Nasdaq:PTRY) whose shares fell by more than 30% in just two trading days at the end of last week following the release of the company's latest results and guidance for next year.
With over 1,600 outlets spread mostly across the Southern states, a good portion of Pantry's earnings are derived from gas sales, which typically earns the company a margin of between 10-13 cents a gallon, but have averaged at the lower end of that range over the last few quarters. It's a volume business that also drives the sales of snack and fast foods through the company's outlets, which include franchises such as Dairy Queen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) and Hardee's, a unit of CKE Restaurants (NYSE:CKR), both of whom compete directly against industry giant McDonald's (NYSE:MCD). (Don't miss The Bottom Line On Margins.)
Lower Gas Volumes And Merchandise Sales Now Expected For 2009
Lately, however, gasoline volumes sold through the company's outlets have been shrinking, and could fall further in the coming year. While the company's recently released year-end result of $1.43 per share beat consensus expectations of $1.23 per share, investors may choose to look past the earnings numbers to focus on the fact that same-store sales of gasoline declined by 6.8% during the quarter and that food and merchandise sales also declined by 2.5%.
Company guidance now calls for gasoline volumes next year to be in the range of 2.0-2.1 billion gallons compared to this year's total of 2.1 billion, and merchandise revenue to be flat to down as well, coming in at $1.6-1.66 billion versus $1.64 for the year just ended.
Growth Doubts Prompt Lower Earnings Estimates
This lackluster outlook now appears to placed in doubt the thesis that the company is a consumer market growth story. While The Pantry still has room to expand its operations in a highly fragmented southern U.S. market dominated by single station "mom & pop" operators, it's going to be tougher to justify such expansion given the evidence of a significant deceleration in gasoline sales. The longer term implications of this on earnings were reflected in the 17% drop in analysts' earnings estimates for fiscal 2010; which fell to $1.56 from $1.88 following last week's earnings release. (Be sure to check out Analyst Forecasts Spell Disaster For Some Stocks.)
The Bottom Line
Slumping demand for a basic commodity like gasoline is as clear sign just how serious the current slump in consumer demand is. If this turns into more than just a temporary phenomenon, companies like Pantry, which have made gasoline sales the keystone of their business models, may have to look for another source to fuel their future growth.
By Eugene Bukoveczky
Eugene Bukoveczky is a freelance writer and investment researcher. He holds a CFA designation and has spent several decades working in the investment business in places like Toronto, New York, London and Dubai. He currently resides in Nova Scotia, where, when not writing, he devotes his time to chopping wood, growing his own vegetables, riding his bike to the store, and thinking about other ways to reduce his carbon footprint. At the time of writing Eugene Bukoveczky did not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
makesumgravy
15 years ago
The Pantry Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2008 Financial Results
The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended September 25, 2008.
Total revenues for the fourth quarter were approximately $2.5 billion, a 24.5% increase from the corresponding period a year ago. Net income was $22.9 million, or $1.03 per share on a diluted basis, up sharply from $5.6 million, or $0.25 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter. EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $87.4 million, up 49.5% from $58.5 million a year ago.
For the full fiscal year, total revenues were approximately $9.0 billion, a 30.2% increase from $6.9 billion in fiscal 2007. Net income for the year was $31.8 million, up 18.9% from $26.7 million last year. Diluted earnings per share were $1.43 for the year, up 22.2% from $1.17 a year ago. EBITDA for fiscal 2008 was $247.2 million, up 15.5% from $214.0 million in fiscal 2007.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Sodini said, “We are pleased to be able to deliver improved operating results for the fourth quarter and for fiscal 2008. As gas margins improved with the dramatic pullback in oil prices, we were able to fully leverage the aggressive actions we took throughout the year to reduce operating costs. Our strong fourth quarter results, together with our capital spending reductions during the year, enabled us to deliver free cash flow of approximately $55 million for fiscal 2008. The retail environment clearly remains challenging, but with our ample liquidity and improved profitability, we believe we are well-positioned to again consider strategic ‘tuck-in’ acquisitions in our regional markets that we believe will be accretive for our shareholders.” Merchandise revenues for the fourth quarter declined 0.7% overall and 2.5% on a comparable store basis from last year’s fourth quarter. The merchandise gross margin was 34.7%, compared with 37.0% a year ago, primarily reflecting increased LIFO charges due to higher inflation factors. Total merchandise gross profit for the quarter was $149.7 million, down 7.0% from the corresponding period a year ago.
For the full year, merchandise revenues totaled approximately $1.64 billion, up 3.9% overall and down 1.7% in comparable stores. The merchandise gross margin for the year was 36.4%, compared with 37.2% in fiscal 2007. Total merchandise gross profit for fiscal 2008 was $595.1 million, a 1.6% increase from the corresponding period a year ago.
Retail gasoline gallons sold in the quarter were down 4.7% overall and 6.8% on a comparable store basis. Retail gasoline revenues rose 33.1%, reflecting a 39.5% increase in the average retail price per gallon to $3.85. The retail gross margin for the quarter was 19.2 cents per gallon or 5.0% of gasoline revenue, compared with 10.5 cents or 3.8% a year ago.
Retail gasoline gallons sold for the year were approximately 2.1 billion, up 3.5% overall and down 4.4% in comparable stores. The retail gross margin was 12.4 cents per gallon or 3.6% of gasoline revenue, compared with 10.9 cents or 4.3% in fiscal 2007. Gasoline gross profit for the year totaled $263.0 million, up 17.0%.
As of September 25, 2008, the Company had $217 million of cash and cash equivalents, with an additional $132 million available under its revolving credit facility.
The Company also announced the following initial guidance ranges for its expected fiscal 2009 performance (excluding potential acquisitions): Merchandise revenues – $1.60 billion to $1.66 billion; Retail gasoline sales – 2.0 billion to 2.1 billion gallons; Merchandise gross margin – 36.0% to 36.6%; Retail gasoline gross margin – 12.5 cents to 15 cents per gallon; Store operating and general and administrative expenses – $620 million to $630 million; Depreciation & amortization - $105 million to $110 million; Interest expense – $85 million to $90 million.
makesumgravy
16 years ago
AP IMPACT: What makes up the price of gas?
Saturday May 24, 7:06 am ET
By John Porretto and John Wilen, AP Business Writers
AP IMPACT: From oil in the ground to gas in your tank, many factors affect prices at the pump
Consider the game of chicken that plays out every day across Pennsylvania State Highway 441. In Marietta, where the road hugs the Susquehanna River, a Rutter's Farm Store gas station stands on one side, a Sheetz gas station on the other.
Kelly Bosley, who manages Rutter's, doesn't even have to look across the highway to know when Sheetz changes its price for a gallon of gas. When Sheetz raises prices, her own pumps are busy. When Sheetz lowers prices, she has not a car in sight.
She calls Rutter's headquarters to report the competition's new price and wait for instructions.
"I call a lot of times and say, 'They went down, hurry up! Hurry up! Call me! Call me!' Or it could be where theirs goes up, and I'll say, 'Take your time! You know, I like being busy.' But I have no control over that."
You think you feel helpless at the pump?
Bosley makes a living selling gas -- and even she has little control over what it costs.
So how exactly are gas prices set? What determines the hair-pulling figure you see displayed in large electronic or plastic numbers? Why is a gallon of gas, say, $4.11 -- not $4.10 or $4.12? Why is the price different across the street?
It all starts with oil.
The biggest factor in the skyrocketing price of gasoline is the historic ascent of crude oil, which has surged from $45 per barrel in 2004 to more than $135 this past week, setting new record highs all the while.
In the first quarter of this year, based on a retail price of gas that now seems like a steal -- $3.11 a gallon -- crude oil accounted for all but about a dollar, or 70 percent, of the cost, according to the federal government.
The rest is a complex mix of factors, from the cost of turning oil into gas to taxes to marketing costs to, sometimes, nothing more than the competitive whims of your local gas station owner.
Not that understanding the breakdown makes it any less cringe-inducing to fill 'er up.
First a primer on how gas gets to your tank:
Once oil is pumped from the ground, it can be sold on the spot market, a last-minute trading arena where oil companies and distributors buy and sell to each other, or straight to refiners. After it's brewed into gasoline, the product can again be sold on the spot market, or directly to wholesalers, who in turn can supply their own stations or sell it to other retailers.
Each step of the way, buyers and sellers negotiate a price until, finally, drivers pay the ultimate tab at the pump.
At the starting point of all this is the price of oil -- which, like the oil itself, is nothing if not crude.
The knee-jerk villains are the oil companies, fat with multibillion-dollar profits, frequent targets of populist anger. But wait: The oil companies don't set the price of oil or the cost of a gallon of gas.
Prices are a function of the open market, the result of futures contracts being traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, and other exchanges around the world.
Buying the current July crude oil futures contract means you're buying oil that will be delivered by the end of July. But most investors who trade futures have no intention of ever accepting the underlying oil: Like stock investors who frequently buy and sell their holdings, they're simply betting that prices will rise or fall.
Of late, on the Nymex, oil futures have been rising.
Why? Blame the falling dollar. Oil is priced in U.S. dollars, and the weaker the dollar gets, the more attractive dollar-denominated oil contracts are to foreign investors -- or any investor looking for a safe haven in the turbulent stock market.
The rush of buyers keeps pushing oil futures to a series of new records, and the rest of the energy complex, including gasoline futures, has followed. That pushes up the price of gas that goes into your tank.
"Crude is the driver," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. "As long as it stays up there, gasoline's not going to be able to decline much at all, even if demand slips. That's just the way it is."
There is some evidence Americans are buying less gas as the price marches higher, and common sense suggests they would cut back even more if gas rose to $4.50 or $5 a gallon.
Lower demand should mean lower prices -- but it takes time for that to happen, given the enormous scale of refining operations that produce gasoline.
"Once demand begins to slow, that needs to translate into inventories, then you get some price weakening," Ritterbusch said. "But it takes a while."
Oil and gasoline prices often move in the same direction, but they aren't linked directly. In fact, while oil prices have more than doubled in the past year, gasoline is only up about 19 percent during the same time.
Oil prices often fluctuate with production decisions from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's crude, or when conflict in the Middle East or Nigeria threatens supplies.
For example, oil prices rose $2.46 in one day last month amid reports a ship under contract to the Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf that may have been Iranian.
A Navy spokesman later said the origin of the boats was unclear, but the news raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. That same day, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents to a then-record national average of $3.577 a gallon on other supply concerns.
And the rise has only grown more dramatic. Oil sprinted higher this past week, rising more than $4 a barrel on Wednesday alone and past $135 on Thursday.
As for gasoline prices: They're closely tied to demand from U.S. drivers and how efficiently refineries are operating. Falling production or inventories often send prices skyrocketing.
Those prices can vary greatly depending on the region.
The Gulf Coast is the source of about half the gasoline produced in the United States, and areas farthest from there tend to have higher prices because of the cost of shipping gas via pipeline and tanker truck all over the country.
Some of those places, like California and New York, also have higher local taxes that push the price higher.
Oil companies may not set the price of oil and gasoline, but not everyone is willing to sit back and let them claim to be innocent bystanders.
In particular, for the second time this year, Big Oil's biggest executives were on Capitol Hill in recent days getting pummeled by many in Congress for their record profits while Americans struggle with record fuel prices.
"Where is the corporate conscience?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked the top executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies.
Soaring gas prices have led to cries for a variety of answers, from Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain's suggestion to suspend the federal gas tax this summer to President Bush's call to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and some offshore waters that are now off limits to oil development.
Others have suggested a windfall profits tax on oil companies, although some economists say that might actually hurt supply. Oil companies say they're not to blame for spiking fuel prices, and their earnings, measured against revenue, are in line with other industries.
On top of that, rising oil prices have sharply cut profit margins for refining, and that hits the major oil companies -- which both pump oil and refine it for use as gasoline.
A giant like Exxon Mobil can handle the blow. Its refining and marketing profits for the first quarter were down 39 percent from a year ago, but Exxon still banked a nearly $11 billion profit because of the hefty prices earned on crude it pumped out of the ground.
Smaller refiners aren't so fortunate. Sunoco Inc.'s refining and supply business lost $123 million in the first quarter, hurt by lower margins. Tesoro Corp. lost $82 million for the same period.
In any case, huge profits at big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron aren't because of high prices at the pump. Their massive profits are tied to their exploration and production arms, which are benefiting from record crude prices.
Higher crude costs also have squeezed profits at the refining arms of companies like ConocoPhillips, which don't produce enough crude themselves to refine at full capacity without buying more oil from other producers.
CEO Jim Mulva said ConocoPhillips, the second-largest U.S. refiner behind Valero Energy Corp., buys about 2 million barrels of crude a day at market prices to refine into gasoline and other products.
"If oil costs us $30 a barrel or $40 a barrel or $120 a barrel, that's why the cost of gasoline is what it is," he said. "It's not because of taxes. It's not because of ... refining and distribution. It's because of the cost of oil."
But it's not only about the price of oil. Other costs are a factor -- though they've remained relatively stable.
For example, federal and state taxes added 40 cents to a gallon of gas in the first three months of this year, roughly the same amount as they added four years ago.
California's 63.9 cents of tax is the nation's highest, Alaska's 26.4 cents the lowest. How the money is used varies from state to state, though the federal take helps to build and maintain highways and bridges.
Marketing and distribution costs -- the tab for delivering gasoline from refiner to retailer -- were 27 cents to start the year, only 6 cents above the cost four years ago.
The cost of refining added 27 cents to a gallon in the first quarter of this year, a nickel less than what it added in 2004, according to the Energy Information Administration.
That refining occurs at sprawling industrial complexes across the U.S., with most of the biggest along the Gulf Coast. Barrels of crude arrive each day by pipeline, ship and barge. The refineries, by heating, treating and blending the raw oil, turn out products like diesel and lubricating oil.
And, of course, gasoline.
What happens when that gasoline makes its way to your neighborhood gas station?
Major oil companies own fewer than 5 percent of gas stations. Most are owned by small retailers -- and many of them say they're struggling these days to turn a profit on gas. That's because wholesale gasoline prices have risen sharply in recent months -- again, blame it on crude -- but station owners have been unable to raise pump prices fast enough to keep pace.
And you can't keep jacking up the price when drivers are buying less.
Gas station owners face a balancing act: They must try to maintain a price that allows them to afford the next shipment of gasoline but not give the competition an edge.
Stations pay tens of thousands of dollars for each gas shipment before they see a cent in the register. Eventually, many make only a few cents on a gallon of gasoline, a margin that can disappear altogether when credit card fees are added in.
Thank goodness for beef jerky and sodas.
Most gasoline retailers long ago got past any illusion they can make money by selling gas. They rely on gas sales to drive traffic to their shops, where they hope auto repairs or food and drink sales will help them turn a profit.
"You're always out there competing with the guy next door -- literally with the guy across the street -- and worried too about how you're going to pay for your next supply," said Rayola Dougher, a senior economic adviser at the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's trade association.
In the Philadelphia suburb of Havertown, Pa., earlier in the week, Sunoco station operator Steve Kehler received a load of gasoline -- 9,000 gallons -- which, at a wholesale price of $3.729 a gallon, cost him 4 cents more than the previous load.
That left him in a sticky situation: Should he raise prices right away to recoup some of his higher gasoline expenses, or should he hold off for a couple of days in hopes his competitors will also have to raise their prices?
"I'm surrounded by $3.89's, and I'm already at $3.91," said Kehler, referring to his prices and those of some nearby competitors. "I'm going to play a little waiting game right now."
The $33,600 Kehler must pay for his overnight gasoline delivery won't be debited from his bank account for a few days. That gives him a little breathing room, time to hold prices steady. Hiking prices too quickly will hurt sales.
"I'll probably change it tomorrow night, at closing," Kehler said. "I'll go up 4 cents."
That will put Kehler at a gross margin of about 20 cents a gallon. After paying credit card fees, labor and rent, Kehler will be lucky to break even on his gasoline sales.
But many times, he loses money selling gas. Kehler, like most other service station operators, relies entirely upon his car repair business for income.
Of course, the plight of retailers is little consolation for drivers.
Mayra Perez said she works two fast-food jobs to help support her family, and gasoline is becoming harder to afford. She said perhaps the government should step in to help ease the burden, possibly by placing price limits on gasoline.
She was filling the tank of her compact car in Miami this past week to the tune of $3.89 per gallon for regular gas.
*"This is horrible," she said. "On the weekend, my husband and I use only one car to save on gas.
"But then there's the cost of food, milk, eggs, the rent."
AP Business Writer Adrian Sainz in Miami contributed to this story.
*Poor Thing! :))))
makesumgravy
16 years ago
Crude hits new record above $126, then falls back
Monday May 12, 1:21 pm ET
By Stevenson Jacobs, AP Business Writer
Crude oil hits new record above $126, then pulls back on demand concerns, profit-taking
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices briefly spiked to a new record above $126 a barrel Monday but later retreated as investors cashed in profits and a massive earthquake in China raised the possibility of a drop in demand.
Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose to another record above $3.70 a gallon, again following crude's recent path higher.
Oil futures have set new records for six straight sessions, driven by a weaker U.S. dollar and growing concerns about declining crude production in Mexico, Russia and elsewhere, analysts say. Goldman Sachs said in a report last week that crude prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years.
"What's really circulating now is the possibility that world oil production has peaked. There's an idea that we can't change supply but we can change demand, and the only way to do that is to rally the market higher," said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $126.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back to $124.50, down $1.19. The contract first rose above $126 on Friday, and many analysts said they expected the market to ease some.
"It looks like we're seeing a little bit of a correction. We put in the highs last week so we're seeing some profit-taking," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures in New York.
Also pressuring oil slightly were concerns that a massive earthquake Monday in central China may temporarily slow demand. The 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 7,600 people, toppled buildings and knocked out power lines.
"We know that some power and electricity plants are off-line, so that could have a negative impact on demand," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "But obviously the market is still showing strength so it has a lot of bounce in it."
Oil's surge is pushing retail gas prices higher. The national average price of a gallon of regular gas rose 1.1 cents overnight to a record $3.718 a gallon according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The Energy Department expects prices to peak at a monthly average of $3.73 in June, though many analysts say national average prices could rise as high as $4. Consumers in many regions, including parts of California and Hawaii, are already paying that much.
Demand for diesel fuel is also growing worldwide, but supplies of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, fell unexpectedly earlier this month. That's pushing U.S. diesel prices to record highs and inflating heating oil prices in the futures market; heating oil futures are often viewed as a proxy for diesel.
Diesel is used to move most of the world's food, consumer and industrial goods via truck, ship and rail. Skyrocketing diesel prices are part of the reason food and consumer goods prices are so high. At truck stops, retail diesel prices rose 3.1 cents overnight to a record national average of $4.361 a gallon.
Also leading crude lower Monday was a drop in heating oil prices, anaysts said. Heating oil for June delivery fell 6.10 cents to $3.5750 a gallon on the Nymex.
"Any weakness in heating oil is going to be bearish for crude on a fundamental level and also psychologically," said Andrew Lebow, senior vice president at Man Financial Inc. in New York.
In other Nymex trading Monday, June gasoline futures fell 1.47 cents to $3.1865 a gallon, and June natural gas futures fell 9.1 cents to $11.4441 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, June Brent crude futures fell $.187 to $123.53 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
makesumgravy
16 years ago
Oil surpasses $126 per barrel ahead of US driving season
Friday May 9, 9:51 am ET
By Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press Writer
Oil prices eclipse $126 a barrel before US driving season as investors flee the dollar
Oil prices surpassed a record $126 per barrel Friday on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening dollar drove investors to snap up commodities.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $2.51 to a new record of $126.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe.
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On Thursday, the contract rose to a record close of $123.69 a barrel.
In London, Brent crude contracts also hit record highs before slipping and traded up $2.98 on the day at $125.82 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Earlier Friday, Brent had reached $125.90 before falling back.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published a report that suggested closer ties between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rebels attempting to overthrow Colombia's government, heightening chances that the U.S. could impose sanctions on one of its biggest oil suppliers as a state sponsor of terror.
Chavez has been linked to Colombian rebels previously, but the paper reported it had reviewed computer files indicating concrete offers by Venezuela's leader to arm guerillas.
"If we put on sanctions I'm sure Chavez would threaten to cut off our oil supply," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "Obviously that would have a major impact on oil prices."
Even if Chavez cut oil shipments to the U.S., Venezuela would still pump and sell oil, Flynn said. And much of that oil would come to the U.S. via middle men, who would buy it from Venezuela and resell it to the U.S. But that new layer in the supply chain would bump up costs, he said.
The European Central Bank also indicated that it was unlikely to consider interest rate cuts to cool the strong euro against the slumping dollar.
By the afternoon in Europe, the euro stood at $1.5444 compared to $1.5404 in late trading Thursday night in New York. The dollar was also weaker Friday against the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Investors view commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation, and some analysts think the dollar's protracted decline is the main reason behind oil prices doubling from a year ago. Also, a weaker dollar makes oil cheaper to investors overseas.
A prediction by analysts at Goldman Sachs seeing oil rising as high as $150 to $200 a barrel within two years also has boosted prices.
Analysts, however, struggled to explain the continued rise of oil futures after a larger-than-expected buildup of crude oil stocks reported Wednesday in the United States.
"Crude oil is currently held up in a tug-of-war between the Goldman reality and the physical reality," said Olivier Jakob of Switzerland's Petromatrix in a research note, adding that the investment bank's prediction made for "a great story to support pension funds piling more into commodities."
Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia, said it may be a combination of continued wariness over potential supply disruptions as well as prospects for a strengthening in crude demand heading into the U.S. summer driving season.
"U.S. gasoline stocks have certainly dropped quite sharply over the last month," he said. "What'll happen in the near term is that we may likely see an uptick in U.S. refining capacity to rebuild gasoline stocks and we may see a short-term build in crude demand as a result."
Prices may also be getting a boost from comments Thursday by the OPEC secretary general.
Abdalla Salem El-Badri on Thursday said again that oil supplies are adequate, and that several member countries are having a hard time finding buyers for their additional supplies.
In other Nymex trading, June gasoline futures rose 4.04 cents to $3.1782 a gallon, while heating oil futures rose 7.68 cents to $3.5866 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 14.5 cents to $11.408 per 1,000 cubic feet.
AP Business Writers Thomas Hogue in Bangkok, Thailand, and John Wilen in New York contributed to this report.
makesumgravy
16 years ago
Gas jumps nearly 3 cents to record; oil crosses $124
Thursday May 8, 4:05 pm ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer
Gas prices jumped nearly 3 cents to a new record, while oil passes $124 for the first time
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gasoline and crude oil jumped to new records Thursday, with gas rising 3 cents to an average national price of nearly $3.65 a gallon and oil crossing $124 a barrel for the first time.
At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular gas nationwide rose 2.7 cents to a record $3.645, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices also rose, adding 0.9 cent to match a record national average of $4.251 a gallon.
Gas prices tend to lag oil futures, and with crude rising to a new record near $124 a barrel Wednesday and likely headed higher, it's widely expected the average price of gas will soon rise as high as $4. Motorists in many areas, including parts of California and Hawaii, are already paying that much, or more.
"If oil prices go the way that pundits are expecting, there's no way we'll stay under $4 a gallon," said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.
Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 16 cents to reach a settlement record of $123.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday after spending much of the day in negative territory. But in after-market electronic trading, prices shot to a new trading record of $124.61. Analysts said volume was quite low, making it easy for oil to keep pushing higher.
"This appears to me to be computer-generated buying," said Linda Rafield, senior oil analyst at Platts, the energy research arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Some investors use software that buys automatically when prices rise to certain levels; Thursday's record settlement may have triggered a flurry of electronic buy orders.
"There is no fundamental news out to cause this market to move like this," Rafield said.
Bullish momentum -- and expectations that the dollar will continue to weaken against foreign currencies including the euro -- are likely to keep pushing oil to new records, he said.
Goldman Sachs analysts recently predicted prices will rise as high as $150 to $200 a barrel within two years. That forecast has driven much of oil's gains in recent days.
Analysts at Goldman and firms such as Barclays Capital believe tight global supplies and growing demand from fast-growing economies in countries such as China and India are driving oil higher. But Gheit and analysts including Tim Evans at Citi Futures Perspective argue that supply and demand fundamentals don't support such high prices.
"There is no reason why oil prices should be above $60," Gheit said, noting that domestic crude supplies are at average levels, and that refineries are cutting gasoline production as high prices cut consumers demand for fuel. "The physical supplies do not justify the price, it just doesn't make sense."
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri on Thursday reiterated his position that oil supplies are adequate, and that there is no need for the cartel to boost production. He said several Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil projects are coming on line, but he noted that several member countries are having a hard time finding buyers for their additional supplies.
El-Badri agrees with analysts who feel speculative investment driven by the dollar's protracted decline is the real reason behind higher prices. The dollar fell against the euro Thursday, attracting investors who view commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation. Also, a weaker dollar makes oil cheaper to investors overseas.
Still, the market sometimes ignores the dollar, as it did Wednesday when oil surged to new records although the dollar advanced. Some analysts say that's a sign that many investors are buying on pure momentum -- believing prices will head higher regardless of negative data, news or dollar movements.
"There's a lot of momentum driving the oil price up," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
In other Nymex trading, June gasoline futures rose 1.96 cents to settle at a record $3.1378 a gallon after earlier rising to a trading record of $3.14, and June heating oil futures rose 6.25 cents to settle at a record $3.5098 a gallon after earlier reaching their own trading record of $3.5152. June natural gas futures fell 6.4 cents to settle at $11.263 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said natural gas inventories rose by 65 billion cubic feet last week, but remain slightly below the 5-year average.
In London, June Brent crude futures rose 52 cents to settle at $122.84 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
AP Business Writers George Jahn in Vienna and Thomas Hogue in Bangkok, Thailand contributed to this report.
makesumgravy
16 years ago
Oil nears $123 on $200 oil prediction, supply concerns
Tuesday May 6, 5:32 pm ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer
Oil prices rise to record near $123 a barrel on prediction of $200 oil, supply concerns
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures blasted to a new record near $123 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.
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A new Goldman Sachs prediction that oil prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years seemed to motivate much of Tuesday's buying, although a falling dollar and increasing concerns about declining crude production in Mexico and Russia contributed, analysts say.
The Energy Department raised its oil and gasoline price forecasts, but also predicted that high prices will cut demand more than previously thought.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $122.73 a barrel before retreating to settle up $1.87 at a record $121.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil prices have nearly doubled from about $62 a barrel a year ago, which Goldman sees as a sign that the world is in the midst of a "super spike" in oil prices. Analyst Arjun Murti said in a research note released Monday that prices would ultimately force demand to fall sharply.
Not everyone shares Goldman's view. Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., countered Goldman's analysis with a note predicting that crude prices could as easily fall to $40 a barrel as rise to $200 over the next two years because supplies are, as Evans put it, comfortable.
James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla., trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com, said Goldman's prediction isn't necessarily new: "We've heard numbers like these out of Goldman Sachs, especially over the last 12 months."
Indeed, it's not the first time Murti has espoused a super spike theory; in an April 2005 note, he predicted the oil market was in the early stages of an unprecedented rally that would send prices from a then-record of about $57 a barrel to $105.
But some investors respond to such predictions by buying, Cordier said.
Meanwhile, in a monthly report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration predicted oil prices will average $110 a barrel this year, up $9 from last month's forecast. The EIA also said high prices will cut U.S. demand for petroleum products by 330,000 barrels a day this year; last month, the EIA predicted U.S. petroleum consumption would fall by 210,000 barrels a day.
But strong demand for oil from countries such as China, India, Russia, Brazil and in the Middle East will support high prices and keep global oil demand growing by about 1.2 million barrels a day this year, unchanged from last month's forecast, the EIA said.
A falling dollar on Tuesday also gave traders reason to buy. Investors often buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the dollar falls, and a weaker greenback makes oil cheaper to investors overseas. Many analysts feel the dollar's protracted decline is the real reason oil prices have nearly doubled since last year.
Cordier said investors are also increasingly concerned about falling oil production in Russia and Mexico, which are major oil producers. And prices are still supported by concerns about supply disruptions in Nigeria, where production at a Royal Dutch Shell PLC facility was cut after a weekend attack, and in Iraq, where Kurdish rebels warned they could launch suicide attacks against American interests to punish the U.S. for sharing intelligence with Turkey after Turkey bombed rebel bases in Iraq on Friday.
At the pump, meanwhile, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas slipped 0.1 cent overnight to $3.61, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Analysts are split over how high gas will go; while prices have slipped lower since May 1, leading some analysts to say gas is close to peaking, others predict the fuel will follow oil's upward surge.
"You're going to see new highs for gas prices, probably for the weekend," said Cordier, who predicts an average price of $4 a gallon in the coming weeks.
In its report, the EIA said gas prices will peak at a monthly average of about $3.73 a gallon in June, about 13 cents higher than its previous forecast.
In other Nymex trading Tuesday, June gasoline futures rose 5.26 cents to settle at $3.1055 a gallon after earlier setting a new trading record of $3.126. June heating oil futures rose 4.7 cents to settle at $3.3535 a gallon after rising to their own trading record of $3.3712, and June natural gas futures fell 2.8 cents to settle at $11.15 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, June Brent crude futures rose $2.18 to settle at $120.31 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
makesumgravy
16 years ago
The Pantry Announces Second Quarter Financial Results
The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., today announced financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended March 27, 2008.
Total revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 were approximately $2.0 billion, a 39.9% increase from the corresponding period a year ago. The net loss for the quarter was $5.1 million, or $0.23 per share, compared with net income of $8.4 million, or $0.36 per share, for the corresponding period a year ago. EBITDA for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was $40.1 million, compared with $51.0 million a year ago.
As previously announced, results for the quarter include $0.23 per share in realized and mark-to-market losses on gasoline hedging positions. Results for last year’s second quarter included a net one-time benefit of approximately $0.09 per share, primarily from an insurance settlement. After excluding one-time items in both years, the Company was at a nominal net loss and produced $48.5 million in EBITDA in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 versus $0.27 in earnings per share and EBITDA of $47.5 million in the second quarter last year.
Merchandise revenues for the second quarter were up 5.4% overall, but down 3.4% on a comparable store basis. The merchandise gross margin was 37.5%, compared with 37.7% in the corresponding period last year and 37.0% in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Total merchandise gross profit for the quarter was $142.5 million, a 4.6% increase from the corresponding period a year ago.
Retail gasoline gallons sold in the quarter increased 9.4% overall, but declined 3.4% on a comparable store basis. Retail gasoline revenues rose 48.4%. The average retail price per gallon was $3.10, up 35.4% from $2.29 a year ago. The retail gross margin per gallon was 9.0 cents, compared with 11.5 cents a year ago. Excluding the hedging loss, the retail gas margin in the quarter was 10.6 cents per gallon, which is higher than the Company’s second quarter retail gas margin in four of the last six years, despite the significant rise in crude oil prices this year.
The Company continued to manage expenses well in the second quarter. Average operating expenses per store were essentially flat year on year despite higher utility costs. General and administrative costs increased $1.7 million from the second quarter of 2007, but were down $1.8 million excluding a one-time net benefit of $3.5 million reported in the prior year quarter. The Company achieved the reduction in expenses despite operating an average of 104 additional stores in this year’s second quarter.
For the first six months of fiscal 2008, total revenues were approximately $4.0 billion, a 41.5% increase from the first half of fiscal 2007. The net loss for the first six months of the year was $1.8 million, or $0.08 per share, compared with net income of $8.5 million, or $0.37 per share, in the corresponding period last year. EBITDA for the first half of fiscal 2008 was $93.7 million, up 8.5% from $86.3 million in the first half of fiscal 2007. Excluding the hedging loss, net income for the first half of fiscal 2008 was $3.0 million and EBITDA was $102.1 million, with a retail gasoline margin of 10.6 cents per gallon this year versus 10.1 cents per gallon in the first half of last year.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Sodini said, “The continued rise of crude oil prices and the current soft retail environment have resulted in challenging operating conditions so far this year. We have continued to focus on improving our productivity, as evidenced by our expense management performance, and plan to keep a tight rein on the business until market conditions improve. To that end, we have reduced our fiscal 2008 net capital expenditure target by another $20 million, to approximately $90 million, and are suspending any additional acquisition activity for the remainder of this calendar year. We also do not have any plans to repurchase stock at this time. We expect these actions to contribute significant additional free cash flow in the second half of the year as our business ramps up during the peak summer season.”
The Company has exited all of its gasoline hedging positions and has no plans to pursue any further gasoline hedging activities at this time. Mr. Sodini said, “Clearly our gasoline hedging program did not perform as we had expected. We are now out of all of our positions and expect to take an additional after-tax charge of approximately $900 thousand, or $0.04 per share, in the third quarter.”
With respect to the balance sheet, the Company had substantial liquidity at the end of the quarter, consisting of un-drawn availability and cash on hand. Subsequent to the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2008 the Company exercised the delayed draw option under its credit facility, which allowed the Company to add $100 million to its term loan with the same attractive pricing and other terms as the existing term loan. While the delayed draw was not necessary to meet immediate needs, the Company exercised this option due to the facility’s favorable terms, including pricing of LIBOR plus 175 basis points, which would otherwise have been unavailable after May 15, 2008. The Company used the proceeds to repay outstanding indebtedness on its revolving credit facility and to provide additional liquidity. After reflecting the impact of the delayed draw, the Company will have approximately $129 million of cash on hand and $145 million available under its revolving credit agreement. The company is currently, and expects to remain, in compliance with all of the applicable debt covenants under its outstanding instruments.
The Company remains comfortable with the fiscal 2008 guidance ranges provided last month.
Conference Call
Interested parties are invited to listen to the second quarter earnings conference call scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet and will be accessible at www.thepantry.com or www.companyboardroom.com. An online archive will be available immediately following the call and will be accessible until May 13, 2008.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
makesumgravy
16 years ago
Gas prices rise further above $3.50, while oil nears $120
Tuesday April 22, 10:45 pm ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer
Gas prices push further above $3.50 a gallon, while oil nears $120 on weaker dollar
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gas and oil prices pushed further into record high territory Tuesday, with retail gas reaching a national average of $3.51 for the first time and crude nearing $120 as the dollar fell to a new low against the euro.
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At the pump, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas rose 0.8 cent Tuesday to $3.511, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices for diesel -- used to transport most food, industrial and commercial goods -- also rose overnight to a new record of $4.204 a gallon.
Gas prices are nearly 66 cents higher than last year, when they peaked at a then-record of $3.23 in late May, and have prompted many analysts to raise their estimates of where gas is going to go.
"I wouldn't rule out the possibility that we could get to $4," said Antoine Halff, an analyst at Newedge USA LLC.
Other analysts are less certain. Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service, thinks gas prices will rise only another 10 cents to 20 cents nationally. That would mean they would peak near $4.15 a gallon in California, where prices are typically highest, and around $3.50 in New Jersey, where they're typically lowest.
Gas prices are rising for many reasons, including oil's record run. Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a new trading record of $119.90 before retreating to settle up $1.89 at a record $119.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract expired after the Nymex closed, which contributed to its spike higher as investors scrambled to square bets. June crude futures, which now become the focus of trading, rose $1.44 to settle at $118.07 a barrel, nearly $2 shy of the $120 level.
On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers attempted to escalate scrutiny of oil and gas companies.
"People deserve a more scrupulous cop on the beat in these markets," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., who along with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called for the Justice Department to investigate possible market manipulation.
Meantime, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., praised the Bush administration's proposal to increase the average fuel economy for new cars and trucks to 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015.
Soaring gasoline prices show "that we have to move much more aggressively toward improving fuel efficiency and help bring relief to American consumers," she said in a statement.
Many investors see commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar. Also, a weaker greenback makes oil cheaper for investors overseas.
The dollar fell Tuesday after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes dropped in March while the median home price declined, raising prospects that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further this year to try to shore up the ailing economy. Fed interest rate cuts tend to further weaken the dollar.
Oil also rose on concerns about supply constraints overseas. A Royal Dutch Shell PLC joint venture declared what's known as force majeure on April and May oil delivery contracts from a 400,000-barrel-a-day Nigerian oil field due to a pipeline attack last week. The move protects the company from litigation if it fails to deliver on contractual obligations to buyers.
In Mexico, oil production slipped 7.8 percent in the first quarter to 2.91 million barrels a day as output at the country's oil fields waned, state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos said. In Scotland, workers at Ineos PLC's 196,000 barrel-a-day Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical plant threatened to strike over changes to an employee pension plan.
While gas prices are following oil futures higher, they're also rising because supplies are falling. Refiners are in the process of switching over from making winter grade gasoline to the more-expensive, less-polluting, form of the fuel they're required to sell in summer. That's pushing supplies down as producers try to sell off all of their winter gas.
Gasoline supplies are also being hurt by low profit margins. Refiners have to buy the crude they turn into fuel, but falling demand for gasoline has hurt their ability to raise gas prices as much as they would like. While the average profit margin on gasoline hovers above $10, analysts say margins have gone negative in some parts of the country in recent weeks. In those cases, refiners were actually losing money on every gallon of gas they made. Many refiners have reacting by producing less gas.
"Very high crude prices can constrain gasoline supplies as it hurts the margins," Halff said.
In other Nymex trading Tuesday, May gasoline futures rose 3.73 cents to settle at $3.0164 a gallon after earlier rising to a trading record of $3.025, while May heating oil futures rose 0.55 cent to settle at $3.3169 a gallon after earlier rising to their own trading record of $3.35. May natural gas futures fell 12.6 cents to settle at $10.607 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, June Brent crude rose $1.52 to settle at $115.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and Gillian Wong in Singapore contributed to this report.
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