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nitpicked

(1,848 posts)
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 03:35 AM 11 hrs ago

$4 Gasoline is Less Than Half the Story (Paul Krugman)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/4-gasoline-is-less-than-half-the?utm_source=substack&publication_id=277517&post_id=192792008&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=75kl2v&triedRedirect=true

(snip)
The reality is that U.S. prices of petroleum distillates and other products in which Persian Gulf nations are key producers have soared. The rise in gasoline prices, for which the national average just hit $4 a gallon, has made headlines. But other prices are also hugely important.

Most non-electric cars run on gasoline, but most trucks are fueled with diesel. And diesel prices are up even more than gasoline prices — approximately $1.70 per gallon as opposed to $1:
(snip)

The feedstocks for fertilizer are largely manufactured from natural gas, and Persian Gulf nations were major producers, shipping their production out through the Strait of Hormuz, before the war. Here’s what has happened to the price of urea:
(snip)
((up about 50%))

And where do you think plastic comes from? Here’s the price of polyethylene:
(snip)
((up about 30%))


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$4 Gasoline is Less Than Half the Story (Paul Krugman) (Original Post) nitpicked 11 hrs ago OP
Heating Oil modrepub 8 hrs ago #1

modrepub

(4,114 posts)
1. Heating Oil
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 06:26 AM
8 hrs ago

In my neck of the woods right now it’s about $5/gal. It was about $3.60/gal in January and that was during an unusually cold winter. Heating oil is close to diesel as far as price goes.

So most homes have 275 gallon tanks that typically are filled 3-4 times a winter. So that’s roughly $400 more for each time you refill your oil tank if prices don’t come down by this winter.

I doubt most folks are thinking about this now but I’m almost positive they will by early November.

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