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Tag Archives: Gasoline
Jay Leno Sends Message After Suffering Burns to Face in Gasoline Fire – NBC Los Angeles
Jay Leno was hospitalized and canceled a conference appearance after suffering a serious medical injury, a burn to his face and hands, after one of his cars caught fire without warning.
Leno, the car fanatic and longtime Tonight Show host, was being treated at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills.
The 72-year-old was set to perform at Forum 2022 at the Aria in Las Vegas Sunday night.
NBCLA spoke with George Swift, a mechanic at Big Dog Productions and good friend of Leno’s, who said it’s going to be a long recovery, but Leno will be OK.
A representative, who was not present at the time of the fire, said Leno was working in his LA garage Saturday when a flash fire erupted from one of the cars and Leno was injured.
He canceled his engagements for the rest of the week.
The hospital released a statement on Leno’s behalf Monday afternoon letting everyone know he was doing well.
“Jay wants everyone to know that he is in stable condition and receiving treatment at the Grossman Burn Center for burns that he received to his face and hands from a gasoline accident in his garage over the weekend. He is in good humor and is touched by all the inquiries into his condition and well wishes. He wants to let everyone know he is doing well and is in ‘the best burn center in the United States,'” the statement read.
Renault is betting the market for gasoline cars will continue to grow
Renault sees the internal combustion engine continuing to play a crucial role in its business over the coming years, according to a top executive at the French automotive giant.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the Renault Group and Chinese firm Geely had signed a non-binding framework agreement to establish a company focused on the development, production and supply of “hybrid powertrains and highly efficient ICE [internal combustion engine] powertrains.”
According to Renault, both itself and Geely will have a 50% stake in the business, which will consist of 17 powertrain facilities and five research and development centers.
Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Tuesday, Renault Chief Financial Officer Thierry Pieton sought to explain some of the reasoning behind the planned partnership with Geely.
“In our view, and according to all the studies that we’ve got, there is no scenario where ICE and hybrid engines represent less than 40% of the market with a horizon of 2040,” he said. “So it’s actually … a market that’s going to continue to grow.”
The tie-up with Geely comes as Renault fleshes out plans to establish an EV spin-off called Ampere.
According to Renault, France-based Ampere “will develop, manufacture, and sell full EV passenger cars.” It’s eyeing an initial public offering on the Euronext Paris, which would take place in the second half of 2023 at the earliest, subject to market conditions.
During his interview with CNBC, Pieton touched upon the need, as he saw it, for different types of vehicles. “It’s very important to have, at the same time, the development of our electric vehicle business on one side — with Ampere — and to build a sustainable source of ICE and hybrid powertrains.”
This was why Renault was going into a partnership with Geely, he added, explaining the move represented “an absolute slam dunk” from a business and financial perspective.
This was because, Pieton argued, it created “a world-leading supplier of ICE and hybrid powertrains with around 19,000 employees in the world, covering 130 countries.”
In comments sent to CNBC via email, David Leggett, an analyst at GlobalData, noted that automotive manufacturers could still enjoy profits from the sale of vehicles that used internal combustion engines.
“Margins are generally higher than on electric vehicles, which are relatively costly to manufacture,” he said.
“The gap will eventually narrow as EV volumes rise sharply and unit costs on major EV components fall significantly, but there is still much profitable business to be done on ICEs and hybrids and will be for some time to come,” he added.
“Manufacturers need to be flexible in their powertrain offerings according to market needs — which differ across the world.”
Renault’s continued focus on the internal combustion engine comes at a time when some big economies are looking to move away from vehicles that use fossil fuels.
The U.K., for example, wants to stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by 2030. It will require, from 2035, all new cars and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions.
The European Union, which the U.K. left on Jan. 31, 2020, is pursuing similar targets. Over in the United States, California is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
Such targets have become a major talking point within the automotive industry.
During a recent interview with CNBC, the CEO of Stellantis was asked about the EU’s plans to phase out the sale of new ICE cars and vans by 2035.
In response, Carlos Tavares said it was “clear that the decision to ban pure ICEs is a purely dogmatic decision.”
Expanding on his point, the Stellantis chief said he would recommend that Europe’s political leaders “be more pragmatic and less dogmatic.”
“I think there is the possibility — and the need — for a more pragmatic approach to manage the transition.”
U.S. gasoline prices are falling again
By Laura Sanicola
(Reuters) – U.S. gasoline prices rose earlier this month but are falling again after West Coast refinery outages subsided and seasonal demand fell.
Prices dropped after a weeks-long rebound after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced plans to reduce the OPEC+ production target by 2 million barrels a day.
President Joe Biden plans to sell the last portion of a release of 180 million barrels of crude oil from U.S. strategic petroleum reserves by the end of December. Biden’s Democrats hope the move will help the party hold thin majorities in both houses of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Not all prices are falling. U.S. diesel prices have risen in the past two weeks due to high global demand, low inventory levels, and low output in Europe due to refinery strikes in France.
WHERE ARE FUEL PRICES NOW?
The national average is at $3.85 a gallon, up 18 cents from its mid-September lows of $3.67 a gallon, but down from highs reached two weeks ago.
The price of diesel is up 33 cents in the past month, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, now at $5.32 per gallon.
The United States uses about 9 million barrels of gasoline per day, and about 3 million barrels of diesel, according to federal data.
U.S. oil refineries are running hard to replenish low inventories even has cold weather sets in, which usually corresponds with a drop in demand for fuel. The four-week moving average of gasoline demand is 2.4% lower than this time last year, while refinery utilization is 5% higher.
U.S. gasoline prices rose earlier this year, peaking in June, following western sanctions on Russian energy products and lower global refinery capacity after pandemic-related closures.
WHAT WAS AFFECTING PRICES?
Last month, U.S. gasoline prices rose largely due to regional refinery outages in the west coast and the Midwest. In California, costs are up more than $1 per gallon in the last month whereas in Texas, prices remain lower than a month ago.
Refinery maintenance often occurs in the fall when demand drops after summer driving season. This fall, however, some refineries had to shut units without warning due to infrastructure problems.
Three refineries in Washington state and California had planned maintenance while another had an unplanned outage in September, according to Refinitiv data and refining sources. In the Midwest, BP-Cenovus’ Toledo refinery is still offline after a fatal explosion shut the plant late last month.
In October, several French refineries shut as workers went on strike to combat the higher cost of living, which sent global distillate inventories lower and increased U.S. distillate exports.
U.S. oil refiners were using 89.5% of capacity as of last week, still seasonally high. Overall U.S. refining capacity has declined since the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand in early 2020.
Gasoline produced to meet California’s environmental rules has fallen nearly $2 gallon in Los Angeles and San Francisco wholesale markets in the past month because of increasing supply, traders said.
WHAT OTHER FACTORS ARE AFFECTING FUEL PRICES?
Tight refining supply has kept the gap wide between wholesale gasoline futures and retail prices, currently at about $1.25 a gallon, far exceeding the average of 88 cents over the past five years.
U.S. retail gasoline demand was sluggish throughout the summer, but has improved in the last month, according to federal data. That has kept a lid on inventories, with U.S. stocks of gasoline sitting near an eight-year low. Additional refining upsets could squeeze that inventory more, boosting prices.
(Reporting by Laura Sanicola and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by David Gaffen and David Gregorio)
Average gas price in Los Angeles County rises to record high at $6.46
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose seven-tenths of a cent to a record $6.466 Monday, topping the previous high of $6.462 set June 14.
The average price has risen 31 consecutive days, increasing $1.22, including 1 cent Sunday and 15.3 cents Thursday, the largest daily increase since the record 19.2-cent hike on Oct. 5, 2012, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The increases Sunday and Monday are the smallest since a half-cent increase Sept. 19.
The average price is 62.6 cents more than one week ago, $1.202 higher than one month ago and $2.05 greater than one year ago.
The streak of increases follows a run of 78 decreases in 80 days totaling $1.216 that began June 15, one day after the average price rose to a record $6.462.
The Orange County average price rose one-tenth of a cent to $6.423, one day after dropping seven-tenths of a cent. It rose 4.3 cents Saturday to a record $6.429, topping the previous high of $6.41 set June 12.
Sunday’s decrease ended a 12-day streak of increases totaling $1.033, including a 15.9-cent increase Thursday, the largest daily increase since the record 19.5-cent hike on Oct. 5, 2012.
The Orange County average price is 59.2 cents more than one week ago, $1.23 higher than one month ago, and $2.044 greater than one year ago.
The rising prices are the result of insufficient supply to meet demand caused in part by reduced production of gasoline from refineries undergoing maintenance, Marie Montgomery, a public relations specialist with the Automobile Club of Southern California, told City News Service.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked refineries to switch to their winter blend gas earlier than normal. The blend is typically cheaper, but analysts say it is unclear how soon drivers will see that change at the pump.
Meanwhile, some relief could come soon arrive through gas rebate checks for Californians who filed their 2020 tax returns.
Checks could be rolled out as early as Friday.
The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.79.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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Gasoline prices rise for a fifth straight day
Maslansky + Partners President Lee Carter weighs in as House Republicans roll out agenda ahead of the November midterms on ‘The Evening Edit.’
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. started rising again in the past week, after declining for nearly 100 days in a row during the summer driving season.
The price on Sunday was $3.417 a gallon, according to AAA.
That makes it five straight days of increases that began on Wednesday morning, when the price ticked up to $3.381 per gallon from $3.674 the previous day.
The average price a week a go was $3.678. A year ago it was $3.188.
GAS PRICES RISE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY 100 DAYS
Pumping gas at the gas station. (iStock / iStock)
Gas hit a high of $5.016 on June 14.
At the time, U.S. crude was about $120 a barrel and the benchmark international price was even higher. Since then, oil prices – which account for over half of what consumers pay at the pump – have tumbled.
Oil prices plunged about 5% to an eight-month low on Friday as the U.S. dollar hit its strongest level in more than two decades and on fears rising interest rates will tip major economies into recession.
Gas prices on Sunday 9/25/2022,
ENERGY CEO HITS AT ‘ENERGY IGNORANCE’ DRIVING CURRENT POLICY: ‘LITTLE HOPE OF ENDING THE CRISIS ANYTIME SOON’
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $4.58, or 5.5%, to $78.91.
For the week, WTI was down about 7%, the fourth straight week of declines for the benchmarks, the first time this has happened since December.
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Its not unusual to see wild price swings and oil could be impacted during hurricane season with a storm expected to hit the Gulf and the coast of Florida this week.
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
Southern California gas prices are skyrocketing again
LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose for the 22nd consecutive day, increasing 7.4 cents Saturday to $5.689.
The average price has increased 44.3 cents over the past 22 days, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 26.1 cents more than one week ago, 37.1 cents higher than one month ago, and $1.286 greater than one year ago.
The current streak of increases follows a run of 78 decreases in 80 days totaling $1.216. The average price is 77.3 cents less than the record high of $6.462 set June 14.
The Orange County average price rose for the seventh time in the last eight days, increasing 6.4 cents to $5.668. It has increased 28.4 cents over the past eight days, and is 27.9 cents more than one week ago, 45.2 cents more than one month ago, and $1.312 higher than one year ago.
The Orange County average price is 74.2 cents less than the record of $6.41 set on June 12.
“Oil Price Information Service reports that several local refineries are undergoing unplanned maintenance as fuel inventories are at their lowest levels in a decade, which caused Los Angeles wholesale gas prices to rise sharply this week,” said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications and programs manager.
The national average price rose for the fourth consecutive day following a 98-streak of decreases, increasing 1.1 cents to $3.70. It is 1.8 cents more than one week ago, 18.3 cents lower than one month ago, and 51.1 cents more than one year ago.
The national average price is $1.316 less than the record $5.016 set June 14.
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Gasoline price drop restrains U.S. consumer spending; monthly inflation brakes sharply
WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – U.S. consumer spending barely rose in July as falling gasoline prices hurt sales at service stations, but monthly inflation slowed sharply, which could reduce the need for the Federal Reserve to deliver another three-quarters of a percentage point interest rate hike next month.
Though the report from the Commerce Department on Friday showed a modest gain in personal income last month, wages increased strongly. That could help to underpin consumer spending and keep the economy growing, albeit moderately.
The slowdown in inflation is likely to be welcomed by U.S. central bank officials. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told the annual Jackson Hole global central banking conference in Wyoming on Friday that the U.S. will need tight monetary policy “for some time.” Powell gave no indication of how high interest rates might rise before the Fed is done. The central bank has raised its policy rate by 225 basis points since March. read more
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“With gasoline prices on track for an even larger fall than in July, and mounting signs that core goods inflation is stepping down, we suspect that could clear the way for a smaller 50 basis points hike in September,” said Michael Pearce, a senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics in New York.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1% last month after advancing 1.0% in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending would gain 0.4%.
The national average gasoline price dropped to about $4.27 per gallon in the last week of July after hitting an all-time high just above $5 in mid-June, according to data from motorist advocacy group AAA.
While that freed money for spending on motor vehicles, clothing, recreational goods, furniture as well as housing and utilities, it depressed sales at service stations. As a result, spending on goods fell 0.2% after surging 1.5% in June.
Outlays on services rose 0.3% amid moderate gains in spending at restaurants and bars as well as on recreation services. Services spending increased 0.7% in June.
A moderate pace of consumer spending in the second quarter helped to blunt the drag on the economy from a sharp slowdown in inventory accumulation caused by supply bottlenecks. Gross domestic product contracted at a 0.6% annualized rate last quarter after shrinking at a 1.6% pace in the first quarter.
Stocks on Wall Street fell on Powell’s comments. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note briefly popped to its highest level since October 2007 before stabilizing near two-month highs.
ECONOMY STILL GROWING
The economy is, however, not in a recession. When measured from the income side, it grew at a 1.4% pace, slowing from the January-March quarter’s 1.8% rate, the government reported on Thursday. read more
Though the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy tightening has raised the risk of an economic downturn, easing price pressures, if sustained, could give it leeway to scale back its rate hikes.
Financial markets see a 50/50 chance of 75 basis points or half-a-percentage point increase at the Sept. 20-21 meeting.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index dipped 0.1% last month, the first drop since April 2020, after surging 1.0% in June. In the 12 months through July, the PCE price index increased 6.3%. That was the slowest year-on-year rise since January and followed a 6.8% jump in June.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index gained 0.1%, the weakest reading since February 2021, after racing 0.6% in June.
The so-called core PCE price index increased 4.6% on a year-on-year basis in July. The smallest annual advance in nine months followed a 4.8% rise in June.
There was more encouraging news on inflation. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey on Friday showed households’ near-term inflation expectations fell to an eight-month low in August. read more
Fed officials are closely watching inflation expectations, the PCE price indexes, in addition to the consumer price index.
Though oil prices have dropped significantly, rental costs have remained hot, leaving some economists hesitant to declare that inflation has peaked.
“Previous instances of slowing inflation momentum this past year have unexpectedly pivoted back to acceleration,” said Will Compernolle, as senior economist at FHN Financial in New York.
With monthly inflation subsiding, inflation adjusted consumer spending increased 0.2% in July after being unchanged in June, indicating a steady pace of growth at the start of the third quarter.
Personal income rose 0.2%, but wages shot up 0.8% after increasing 0.6% in June. Personal income was restrained by a decrease in non-wage income.
Strong wage growth amid a tight labor market bodes well for consumer spending, especially if inflation continues to cool. The saving rate was unchanged at 5%.
Despite the tepid consumer spending rise, GDP growth is expected to rebound this quarter, thanks to a shrinking trade deficit. A separate report from the Commerce Department on Friday showed the goods trade deficit narrowed 9.7% to $89.1 billion in July as imports declined. Wholesale inventories rose 0.8%, while stocks at retailers increased 1.1%.
“The baseline outlook is for the U.S. economy to remain recession-free,” said Matt Colyar, an economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
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Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao, Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Oil from U.S. reserves sent overseas as gasoline prices stay high
HOUSTON, July 5 (Reuters) – More than 5 million barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency reserves release to lower domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices hit record highs.
The export of crude and fuel is blunting the impact of the moves by U.S. President Joe Biden to lower record pump prices. Biden on Saturday renewed a call for gasoline suppliers to cut their prices, drawing criticism from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. read more
About 1 million barrels per day is being released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through October. The flow is draining the SPR, which last month fell to the lowest since 1986. U.S. crude futures are above $100 per barrel and gasoline and diesel prices above $5 a gallon in one-fifth of the nation. U.S. officials have said oil prices could be higher if the SPR had not been tapped.
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“The SPR remains a critical energy security tool to address global crude oil supply disruptions,” a Department of Energy spokesperson said, adding that the emergency releases helped ensure stable supply of crude oil.
The fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner, Phillips 66 (PSX.N), shipped about 470,000 barrels of sour crude from the Big Hill SPR storage site in Texas to Trieste, Italy, according to U.S. Customs data. Trieste is home to a pipeline that sends oil to refineries in central Europe.
Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), an arm of French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), exported 2 cargoes of 560,000 barrels each, the data showed.
Phillips 66 declined to comment on trading activity. ATMI did not respond to a request for comment.
Cargoes of SPR crude were also headed to the Netherlands and to a Reliance (RELI.NS) refinery in India, an industry source said. A third cargo headed to China, another source said.
At least one cargo of crude from the West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana was set to be exported in July, a shipping source added.
“Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn’t happened, but at the same time, it isn’t really having the effect that was assumed,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.
The latest exports follow three vessels that carried SPR crude to Europe in April helping replace Russian crude supplies. read more
U.S. crude inventories are the lowest since 2004 as refineries run near peak levels. Refineries in the U.S. Gulf coast were at 97.9% utilization, the most in three and a half years.
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Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sam Holmes
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Bezos slams Biden’s call for gasoline stations to cut prices
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 2, 2021. Paul Ellis/Pool via REUTERS
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July 3 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos renewed his spat with the White House over the weekend, as the world’s third-richest person criticized President Joe Biden for calling on companies running gasoline stations to lower their prices.
In a tweet on Saturday, Biden said, “this is a time of war and global peril,” and demanded the companies lower gasoline prices, which have soared to about $5 a gallon in many parts of the country.
“Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now,” the president said.
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Bezos soon after wrote on Twitter: “Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.”
On Sunday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected the criticism from Bezos, arguing that oil prices had dropped by about $15 a barrel in the past month while prices at the pump had “barely” fallen.
“But I guess it’s not surprising that you think oil and gas companies using market power to reap record profits at the expense of the American people is the way our economy is supposed to work,” she wrote on Twitter.
Bezos has locked horns with Biden’s administration in the past. In May, he accused Biden of misleading the public and blamed his administration for a spike in inflation. read more
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Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.