According to this week’s OPIS report, US national retail fuel margins reversed their two week trend and increased by $0.02 per gallon from last week. The national average retail fuel margin is now $0.146 per gallon.
So far the average 2013 retail fuel margin is $0.136 per gallon. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, typical fuel margins are in the range of $0.18 per gallon over an annual period, so the c-store industry is bumping along the bottom of the fuel margin sea as we start off the new year.
From a gas pricing strategies perspective, this is the time of year when fuel managers need to simply hold on until the market improves and margins can return to more favorable conditions.