Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

cbsnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 194 posts

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#71

Post by teiferer »

bluGill wrote: post #47
t1234s wrote: post #12

In the late 90's/ early 2000 Diesel was about the same cost as regular gas and then at some point its about the same cost as premium gas. Is there any reason why Diesel costs more? I was always under the impression that it was a less-refined fuel therefore cheaper.

The market values Diesel more. Diesel fuel has more energy per gallon, and a diesel engine as run in the real world is more energy efficient (in a lab gasoline is slightly more energy efficient, but the difference is slight and the conditions needed to make this happen are rare in the real world). Thus those who use a lot of fuel - things like freight and earth moving normally use diesel engines. These are also appli…

That sounds like a great theory but is not consistent with the observation that until not too long ago, diesel used to be cheaper. How do you explain that?

That's the problem with hindsight theories, especially if only using a limit horizon into the past.

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#72

Post by bluGill »

iso1631 wrote: post #46
AmazingTurtle wrote: post #26

still half as cheap as in EU

It works out at €1.40 a litre, or £1.20 a litre. Diesel at the local garage I passed at lunchtime is £1.89 (57% more). The web [0] suggests that is more expensive than anywhere in europe other than France and Denmark for some reason. So nowhere near "half as cheap". Throw in poor American average mileage and I suspect the price-per-mile is quite similar. [0] https://www.fuel-prices.eu/live/

Diesel engines in the US are used for things where they do count fuel costs. (there are a few diesel cars/SUVs, but they are a tiny minority). In short for most diesel users the efficiency is very similar between US and Europe.

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#73

Post by bix6 »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #70
OptionX wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be more than willing to go electric if someone sends me the cash to get an electric, because if I could replace my diesel-guzzling 11yo I would.

Last I checked, depending on one’s needs, used EVs are among some of the best values in the US used car market. Their prices are closer to what prices on used gas cars would’ve been had the market not been turned on its head during the pandemic. The main caveat is that available models are heavily weighted towards “compact” (RAV4 sized) SUVs and larger. There aren’t many little Prius/Fit/Soul type town car models aro…

Yes because everyone wants a massive EV with a degraded 10 year old battery

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#74

Post by noselasd »

iso1631 wrote: post #46
AmazingTurtle wrote: post #26

still half as cheap as in EU

It works out at €1.40 a litre, or £1.20 a litre. Diesel at the local garage I passed at lunchtime is £1.89 (57% more). The web [0] suggests that is more expensive than anywhere in europe other than France and Denmark for some reason. So nowhere near "half as cheap". Throw in poor American average mileage and I suspect the price-per-mile is quite similar. [0] https://www.fuel-prices.eu/live/

Diesel in Norway was about €2.5 a litre today.

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#75

Post by bluGill »

Varelion wrote: post #49

Americans get what they voted for. This is what the republican party stands for: throwing the common man under the bus to protect the Epstein class.

I want to know what happened to all the free trade republicans we used to know... If anyone knows where they went I want to join them.

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#76

Post by boilerupnc »

bluGill wrote: post #47
t1234s wrote: post #12

In the late 90's/ early 2000 Diesel was about the same cost as regular gas and then at some point its about the same cost as premium gas. Is there any reason why Diesel costs more? I was always under the impression that it was a less-refined fuel therefore cheaper.

The market values Diesel more. Diesel fuel has more energy per gallon, and a diesel engine as run in the real world is more energy efficient (in a lab gasoline is slightly more energy efficient, but the difference is slight and the conditions needed to make this happen are rare in the real world). Thus those who use a lot of fuel - things like freight and earth moving normally use diesel engines. These are also appli…

I found this Planet Money Episode [0] really insightful as well to understand the components that drive the price of a gallon of gasoline.

[0] https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120422634/breaking-down-the-...

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#78

Post by bluGill »

blitzar wrote: post #14
MuffinFlavored wrote: post #7

What is it "inflation adjusted" or is that cyclical because inflation itself measures/is a measure of the cost of diesel (which bleeds into the cost of goods and services)?

> up 60% from a year ago Inflation is high ... but not that high

Diesel was over $4/gallon in 2005. Please run inflation against that, not last years prices. (I remember 2005 prices I'm not old enough to remember diesel prices in the 1970s, but that would be an interesting place to run inflation from as well)

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#79

Post by mindslight »

My question is not whether those who voted for Trump 2024 are going to come to their senses and sour on this incompetent, destructive, and corrupt con man. My question is how long their reality checks are going to last before they start leaning right back into the revanchist destructionist feel-good narratives that led us here in the first place. This senseless destruction would not have happened if they had merely listened to their fellow citizens rather than writing us all off as some caricatures of woke boosters as their media propagandists led them to. Was Trump 2024 a true enough instantiation of what they've been demanding that they can finally put their hopeless "lost cause" bullshit to bed? Or are its eminently predictable results only going to remain obvious long enough for another temporary reprieve?

Re: Diesel prices in U.S. top $6 a gallon for first time

#80

Post by gizajob »

disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #62
iso1631 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would not be happening if the USA had not launched an attack on Iran This was the desired effect though, as higher oil prices means more profit for US based oil producers. I'm sure that will trickle down any time now.

> This was the desired effect though Honestly, I think you're giving far too much credit to the current US government.

It’s a simple calculation though and not talked about enough. USA went to war in Iraq 25 years ago thanks to the oilmen in charge at that time. For all the political bluster about Iran and gas prices, $100 oil makes them hugely more profit than $60 oil. Of course producers and shareholders of American oil companies want that extra free money. They’re not pumping oil out of the ground and keeping it at a low price just to be benevolent to the American consumer.
Post reply on HN