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Dear Bureau Of Labor Statistics, About Those Plunging Gasoline Prices...

Tyler Durden's picture




 

One of the major reasons for yesterday's market surge to new record highs was the surprise drop and miss in the April wholesale inflation report, or rather make that deflation, when the BLS announced that PPI in April had dropped by 0.4%, far below expectation of a 0.1% increase, of which the BLS said "over 30 percent can be attributed to the index for gasoline, which decreased 4.7 percent."

The implication, of course, being that with the US drifting ever further from the Fed's desired 2% inflation threshold, not only is the probability of a June rate hike negligible, but the last time US macro data was this bad, the Fed launched QE2 (and Operation Twist... and QE3).

Which is all great, we just have one question for the BLS: just what "data" are you looking at?

Because a quick reality check reveals April gasoline prices not only did not drop 4.7%, they rose by 8%!

 

... leading to the following grtesque divergence between "data" from the US Department of Truth and, well, the real world.

 

And just to put it in perspective, at this rate in a few weeks gasoline prices in America's most auto-dependent state, California, will be at or above levels seen from last year. In fact, the surge in California gas prices in 2015 is the fastest on record. As Larry Kudlow would call it "unambiguously bad."

 

So, dear BLS, we are all ears about that explanation.

 

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Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:06 | 6096501 Budnacho
Budnacho's picture

According to Ms. Gorski,. my 5th -Grade Teacher....Down is the other way....what you're showing there is UP..the opposite of down..

 

There.....fixed it....*pats self on back*

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:08 | 6096509 Your guess is a...
Your guess is as good as mine's picture

Does she go up on you, then?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:12 | 6096522 DavidC
DavidC's picture

Naughty. But funny!

DavidC

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:16 | 6096540 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

BLS = Bureau of Lobotomized Shitheads

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:21 | 6096555 Mister Ponzi
Mister Ponzi's picture

As the quality of gasoline has increased so dramatically since last year the hedonic adjustment turns the price increase into a price drop.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:29 | 6096580 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

In this case, it actually IS seasonally adjusted.  So that's it.  

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:40 | 6096615 new game
new game's picture

guv bullshit + controlled opposition = churn of wasted thoughts and brain drain for the right stuff to happen. these fuckers are contolling you and i. if we let them control the meme. fuck em and their stats and controlled dialog...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:54 | 6096660 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

We're getting screwed by gas prices in California.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:03 | 6096689 knukles
knukles's picture

Ha hah ha hhaaaaaaa hammered
Not to worry.  We're past peak oil.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:38 | 6096855 DeadFred
DeadFred's picture

WTI 100, gas $4.60 -last year

WTI 65, gas $2.90 -last December

                     WTI 65, gas $3.90 -now

Wait... what?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 12:17 | 6097588 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

Enronomics.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 17:35 | 6098833 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

eCONonomics.

As you well know, I have been long sharecropping and moonshine for quite a while.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:57 | 6097237 franciscopendergrass
franciscopendergrass's picture

A blown up refinery and summer blend = where the fuck did the gas savings go in California?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:27 | 6097398 Creepy A. Cracker
Creepy A. Cracker's picture

Ask your CA government about gas prices.  66 cents per gallon of tax "profit" on gas.  For a 20, plus, gallon tank, $13.20 in taxes every time you fill your tank.  And morons complain about oil companies making 4 (four, quatro) CENTS profit per gallon of gas.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 12:43 | 6097696 Cruel Aid
Cruel Aid's picture

taxes are necessarily going to have to rise to compensate for tax loss due to the electric car revolution in california.

Dont complain... Get It?!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 12:44 | 6097705 lunaticfringe
lunaticfringe's picture

I have California gas taxes over 70 cents a gal. (combined with Federal taxes) and I brought a link with me, map of all taxes state by state, even though its a year old. 

http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.com/2014/02/07/this-gasoline-tax-map-e...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 13:19 | 6097840 Creepy A. Cracker
Creepy A. Cracker's picture

Here is the recently updated version.  Shocking that CA gas tax went down a little bit...

http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.com/2015/04/28/gasoline-taxes-and-the-price-at-the-pump/

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:37 | 6096604 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Price discovery.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:45 | 6096633 mrdenis
mrdenis's picture

Oh ..what difference does it make ......

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:34 | 6097426 _ConanTheLibert...
_ConanTheLibertarian_'s picture

Yeah, like nowadays I can't start my law mower anymore on old gas. Nice quality improvement.

/s

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:59 | 6097527 BooMushroom
BooMushroom's picture

Good old corn fuel. Try some fuel stabilizer.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:24 | 6096800 Stoploss
Stoploss's picture

I can't hear shit. How about we be all eye's??

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:13 | 6096525 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

You don't need us to tell you that gas prices are back on the rise...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAkxR9T01pw

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 17:52 | 6098884 Citxmech
Citxmech's picture

What are you talking about?  According to these idiots, gasoline is currently "shockingly affordable":  

Why cheap gas and low unemployment hasn’t boosted consumer confidence http://www.statecolumn.com/2015/05/why-cheap-gas-and-low-unemployment-ha...

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:22 | 6096750 L_Conquistador
L_Conquistador's picture

deleted

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:25 | 6096806 Budnacho
Budnacho's picture

I went through 5th grade around 1978-79....when Teachers were 206 yrs old on average and ruled with bony-Iron Fists

 

So no...If she went down it meant her hip went out.....

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:13 | 6096523 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

Real World: Plug in data then get answer.

BLS World: Set answer then create data.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:08 | 6096507 The Merovingian
The Merovingian's picture

There are lies, damn lies, and there are statistics.

Mark Twain

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:17 | 6096757 Squid-puppets a...
Squid-puppets a-go-go's picture

akshully, 67% of people who use that quote attribute it to the wrong person.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:35 | 6096854 exi1ed0ne
exi1ed0ne's picture

-Abraham Lincoln

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:03 | 6096992 sdmjake
sdmjake's picture

93% of Statistics are made up on the spot...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:17 | 6097042 economessed
economessed's picture

Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is interesting, but what they conceal is essential.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:26 | 6097083 froze25
froze25's picture

That is a great line!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:35 | 6097433 _ConanTheLibert...
_ConanTheLibertarian_'s picture

He forgot damn stats?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:11 | 6096510 teutonicate
teutonicate's picture

 

"So, dear BLS, we are all ears about that explanation."

You will be waiting a long time.  If it was up to truth, these guys would be out of business.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:54 | 6096659 youngman
youngman's picture

They never have a spokesman from the BLS come out and explain the numbers...they are just hidden in the background

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:09 | 6096512 Sentient B-ing
Sentient B-ing's picture

Who pays attentoin to anything eminating from the US .gov lies and obsfucation dept.....

Anyone with half a brain cell knows better.

BLS = Bullshit Lying Shitheads....

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:13 | 6096526 dontgoforit
dontgoforit's picture

And the complicit MS media plays their song without so much as a sharp note.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:16 | 6096542 Sentient B-ing
Sentient B-ing's picture

They all belong in Sing-Sing :-)

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:45 | 6096898 indygo55
indygo55's picture

They all belong in Sing-Sing :-)

 

Funny cuz thats what they think about you. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:59 | 6096674 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

I think you mean MS Excel.

Goalseeking, FTMFW!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:12 | 6096515 Robert3620
Robert3620's picture

My wonderful state took the opportunity of lower gas prices to raise the gas tax by seven cents. I wonder how many other states did this as well. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:13 | 6096527 dontgoforit
dontgoforit's picture

I live in GA too.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:00 | 6096679 papa song
Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:04 | 6096693 quasimodo
quasimodo's picture

Here in IA it went up a dime, SOB's.  They all sat and patted each other on the back how they reached across party lines and passed it literally in the blink of an eye. No shit Sherlock, what fucking rep WON'T pass that? I don't care what party you are from, if it's more money for you it don't fucking matter. The only good thing I see is there is evidence it's getting put to good use on roads and bridges already, however with that said the head of the IDOT is already saying he needs more money next year. The heck with that noise. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:27 | 6097396 eddymunster
eddymunster's picture

Tater?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:11 | 6096517 Budd aka Sidewinder
Budd aka Sidewinder's picture

Wait a second there professor...We fixed the glitch

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:11 | 6096518 yogibear
yogibear's picture

But the Federal Resereve says inflation and higher prices are good for us.

They say lower prices and deflation is very,very bad for us.

Impoverishment and stealing of wealth is what it's all about now, through printing.

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:12 | 6096520 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Please remember, the Koch brothers need to eat to.  Don't worry, there's no shenanigans going on in the supply line to disrupt it.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:15 | 6096537 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

These Kock brothers you speak of somehow control the fate of 300 million Americans and there is nothing Washington DC can do to stop them.  I am guessing you watch James Bond marathons every weekend.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:20 | 6096547 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

Kock pussy galore...

 

Save us 007.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:22 | 6096556 DutchBoy2015
DutchBoy2015's picture

Kock brothers are nothing compared to the ZioNazi Jews that control America.  

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:23 | 6096561 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Clearly you have no idea of the amount of refiners they own in this country, and DC won't stop them unless the bribes end. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:46 | 6096635 TheReplacement
TheReplacement's picture

Any list of political donors makes it clear that the Koch's are not the primary culprits.  One would think that if they were then we would have that pipeline thing happening.  Everyone knows that Uncle Warren is running the domestic oil transportation show and he does it in a way that does not benefit the Kochs.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:14 | 6096528 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Fuck you Obama. Cutting off coke plants and laying off your new carbon electric car expansion. 

Well dumb fuck WH negro, this is why you failed. 

BMW M5 2013 Commercial M Preview - 2015 German Cars TV HD Car TV Show

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o9HZqXMeWw8

Suck on the carbon trade exchange while Reggie is fucking in your asshole. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:17 | 6096529 undercover brother
undercover brother's picture

Statistics are whatever the government wants them to be at any given time because 99% of the general public accepts what they hear and would never bother to question government credibility or their "interpretation" of source data and since a compliant media simply reports, rather than question, they become the gift that keeps on giving.  Just a typical day in the bought and paid for USA. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:14 | 6096534 Niall Of The Ni...
Niall Of The Nine Hostages's picture

Tyler, where did you get your figures?

Seriously.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:30 | 6096582 taketheredpill
taketheredpill's picture

www.bls.gov/

 

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:05 | 6096696 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Silly Tyler forgot to seasonally adjust the real price increase.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.t04.htm

Fuckin' piker, I tell ya!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:16 | 6096539 22winmag
22winmag's picture

My Oldsmobile will not be happy and will seek vengeance.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:16 | 6096541 silverer
silverer's picture

So, let me get this straight:  we're supposed to pull up to the pump, read the price but pay less anyway?  I thought they called that robbery?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:35 | 6096597 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Hook up with a gasoline reward card so Google and other 3rd party can scam you with marketing deception. We know what your thinking mentality. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:07 | 6096708 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

 You pay more at the pump, but less overall, as you're still too poor to do anything other than to sit at home staring at the TeeVee listening to plastic people telling you how great everything is.

Hedonics, bitchez!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:23 | 6096798 stocker84
stocker84's picture

Gasoline prices are not efficient.One block $2.59 Mobile unleaded 87 octane... the next block $2.79 Mobile unleaded 87 octane.

 

I use Gas Buddy... as efficient as it will get until  most people start using it. App on android and iPhone... probably on windows phone, too.  Drive to lowest/nearest gas station and that alone will drive the price down another 10%. Wishful thinking.....because we're in a world of mindless zombies, but the rest of us can do our part.  

China has surpassed the US in gasoline consumption?When that house of cards collapses, we'll see gasoline under $2 a gallon.

 

 

 

 

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:28 | 6096823 stocker84
stocker84's picture

And the biggest consumers(by state) pay nearly $0.50 a gallon in tax. What a crock of shite. 20%?WTF

 

http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/industry-economics/fuel-...

 

 

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:17 | 6096545 q99x2
q99x2's picture

That's ok in California we are shut down because of the torrential droughts I mean rains we've been having.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:26 | 6096550 antiximik_RU
antiximik_RU's picture

These data are from Ministry of Plenty and are not from Ministry of Truth. Ministry of Truth hasn't worked with the data yet but it will.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:39 | 6096609 Minnalousha
Minnalousha's picture

Indeed. There is still so much climate "data" to process.

We will attend to the rest soon.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:24 | 6096562 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

hahahahahahahahahahahaha! http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=VX&p=m5 fundamentals in action.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:25 | 6096567 DutchBoy2015
DutchBoy2015's picture

Back up to 1.65 euros a liter here.   7 bucks a gallon.  I only drive about 200km a month so no big deal.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:01 | 6096682 Took Red Pill
Took Red Pill's picture

Yes, we Americans complain about the price of gas but it's much higher in Europe, always has been.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:10 | 6096717 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

We pay plenty once all of the other costs are factored in, such as the currency depreciation required to keep Uncle Sugar "solvent."

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:16 | 6097350 CuttingEdge
CuttingEdge's picture

Since +80% of the price is tax (in the UK at least) its a choice between free healthcare and rip-off gas on one side of the pond, and cheap gas + rip-off healthcare on the other. Which doesn't explain why US healthcare is double the cost of anywhere else in the developed world - that's just you guys taking it up the arse from big pharma and the insurance mobsters, ably assisted by the cunt in the White House.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 20:25 | 6099257 Curiously_Crazy
Curiously_Crazy's picture

You pretty much hit the nail on the head; The taxes on the fuel go straight into road infrastucture so it's essentially a 'user pays' system. I'd also add (and I'm not sure about the UK) but in the US their insurance rates are through the roof as well. It would cost me over twice as much to insure my car over there.

Sat, 05/16/2015 - 09:57 | 6100208 Red Raspberry
Red Raspberry's picture

Not quite .  Much of it goes for commuter rail systems too.  And bike paths or such

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:33 | 6096593 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

If they lie on something that everyone sees daily on a big billboard 100s of time day , imagine what else they might lie about !!!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:39 | 6096610 negative rates
negative rates's picture

That's why they will never give up the truth, they expose their own lies.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:39 | 6096612 Downtoolong
Downtoolong's picture

The problem with your chart is that you are using raw data. It needs to be adjusted for weather, seasonality, crude oil price and refining margin forecasts, consumption volumes, dollar strength and/or weakness, global warming, the political climate, and Goldman Sachs trade book. Once you do that, you will clearly see that the price of gasoline is falling.

Yours truly,

Frank Smith, V.P. BS at the BLS.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:44 | 6096629 hoist the bs flag
hoist the bs flag's picture

don't forget hedonics and the "ramen noodles are under $1 index"...also staycations rather than vacations should be priced in.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:51 | 6096647 antiximik_RU
antiximik_RU's picture

I don't see any adjustments for solar activity and Mars weather in your list. Why are they not considered?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 12:18 | 6097598 Sentient B-ing
Sentient B-ing's picture

Don't forget to apply the corruption coefficient.....

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:40 | 6096614 BeaverCream
BeaverCream's picture

off topic but speaking of lies..

http://hellstormdocumentary.com

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:50 | 6096644 ptoemmes
ptoemmes's picture

Dr. Schrödinger's Quantum Economics = QE

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:54 | 6096658 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Stand up to these assholes. Several days ago, Regime cocksocker left a notice under my windshield wiper. It told me to park my Lincoln Mark LT into another parking spot. I own this villa and pay HOA fees. I basically told the HOA to piss off. I don't need to comply by purchasing a clown car. Just wait until I bring the Navigator down. I will park in one of your compact parking spots. I did it in Marco Island, Hilton Head will be no different. 

Silly progessive cunts in charge. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:55 | 6096662 post turtle saver
post turtle saver's picture

gas prices are the least of your worries when you're watching property taxes get raised anywhere from 9% to 11% (holy crap 11%, no shit) year over year...

can't speak for other states but in Texas it's simply become a ritual of automatically protesting the assessments... hell, there's a whole set of businesses built around that process now... green shoots!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:05 | 6096698 Took Red Pill
Took Red Pill's picture

Where we live, we pay the highest electricity rates in the continental US. They went up another 30% last fall. Our bill is usually $300-$400 a month. No a/c use this summer!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 17:32 | 6098824 Abbie Normal
Abbie Normal's picture

Does where you live approach $0.38/KwH?  That's what it costs here and somehow we manage without A/C, and electricity for two only costs $125/mth.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:36 | 6097130 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

ILAnnoy is broke and property taxes are going up everywhere EXCEPT Chicago. There's a huge exit of smart people from here, probably heading to your state. Good luck!

Sat, 05/16/2015 - 08:45 | 6097472 post turtle saver
post turtle saver's picture

lol who is the moron that downvotes concerns around tax rates increasing ~10% YoY... if it's a bot I laugh in its face, if it's an actual person I heartily guffaw at their slope-headed level of knee jerk stupidity... by rule of 72 that means property taxes can potentially double in as little as 7 to 8 years... can you imagine being on fixed income, living in a house that's paid off, and watching it basically being taken away from you anyway because there's no way your retirement can keep up with the tax rate increases?

this is a serious problem, I got to watch it play out in real time over the past four years as old people were basically shoved out of downtown with a foot in their ass when their property taxes doubled or even tripled in less than 10 years... that's absolutely ridiculous and frankly criminal in my eyes...

Sat, 05/16/2015 - 09:45 | 6100185 Red Raspberry
Red Raspberry's picture

Probably a pensioner depending on local property taxes to fund their retirement. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:31 | 6096663 VW Nerd
VW Nerd's picture

When I was going to college many years ago, I received a tidbit of knowledge from my statistics professor.  He said, "Statistics are like a string bikini.  What they reveal is interesting...what they conceal is vital."  An example is when the labor dept crows about the historic low unemployment rate but conceals the fact that the long term out of work population is not included in the unemployed data set.  We have to presume that thier gas price data is similarly tortured.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:25 | 6096807 Mike Honcho
Mike Honcho's picture

No matter the price, people still insist on putting the hammer down like Nascar scouts are on the prowl.  I will be going easy and see you at that next light (unless on the 1200cc).

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:28 | 6096821 ken
ken's picture

It's called "LIELTY," and it's often a pre-requisite, along with VET status, for a career in the "LIE ENFORCEMENT" branch of LAW ENFORCEMENT? "That's why they will never give up the truth, they expose their own lies."

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:28 | 6096829 ken
ken's picture

Oh, wrong quote.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:30 | 6096834 Drop out
Drop out's picture

We gassed some people.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:06 | 6097289 CHC
CHC's picture

The government employes nothing but useful idiots and liars.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:35 | 6097429 Seer
Seer's picture

Soemtimes looking at the Big Picture helps clarify things:

http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/DOT-Miles-Traveled.php

Price really means little anyway.  What matters is affordability.

While folks got all giddy about that slight down-turn in fuel prices and bought up a bunch more SUVs I went out and bought up a couple of old, used econ-cars.  I cut my fuel costs by a good 30-40%, which, I'm hoping, will be enough to allow me to readily weather a doubling of the current prices.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:58 | 6097520 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

Who is Larry Kudlow?

Exactly.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 17:46 | 6098871 Kokulakai
Kokulakai's picture

up dn

Perspective.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 19:32 | 6099155 scrappy
scrappy's picture

I just get in my car and play travel videos on the dash.

 

 

Sat, 05/16/2015 - 21:02 | 6101807 Hope Copy
Hope Copy's picture

And with that 7.9% increase in gasoline, the Fed can now justify that 0.25% increase... to kick of the summer trading session.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!